Holding the Line
by Chayo the Confused
Summary: Jaune Arc came from a long line of heroes. He thought he knew about every hero that had graced his lineage and he intended to honor and learn from each and every one of them. What? Link? Who's that?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It all began in a most unlikely little place. A hidden and forgotten village, if you will, somewhere on the eastern shore of Remnant Called Ansel. It was a pleasant place, with wide and lush green farmlands where the crops grew in plentiful bushels and the cattle and sheep grazed to their heart's content. A river rushed through the town as well, as clear as any river could be, cool and refreshing no matter what time you sampled the water. The food there was good too, though that wasn't important. It was the perfect little place in all regards, and the perfectly humble home of a young youth with golden hair.

He was a small boy, with large and bright blue eyes that shone whenever he asked questions, and the questions were truly endless, so they were always shining, giving him a rosy complexion, and a precious countenance. At the young age of thirteen years old, Jaune Arc was a man on a mission. Every morning, before the sun rose, he would go out and watch his father train his sisters in the art of being a huntsman. Seven sisters. One for each day. Swordsmanship, marksmanship, unarmed combat, you name it, Rusl taught it. Every morning Jaune would get up and watch his father teach all methods of combat, hoping and waiting for the day that it would be his turn.

Sadly, that day never came, for it seemed the world had another teacher in mind for Jaune. Not that Jaune knew that. Or even if he did, it's not like it would help him much. No matter how his father tried to explain it, no matter how his mother or sister tried to reason with him, to give him something else to do, he could not, would not be swayed. Dance lessons were fine. Cooking and survival lessons were fine. Training? No, that wasn't possible. Now, Jaune didn't admit it, not out loud anyway, but he was becoming resentful, and bitter. The only sister that seemed to understand at all was the oldest, Saffron, but not only was she NOT a huntress, but she was moving to Argus!

But the story doesn't end there, as Jaune decided that if his parents wouldn't teach him anything, then he would simply have to find tutelage elsewhere. That couldn't be too difficult, he reasoned. With Grim and bandits running rampant all over the world, finding someone to teach him couldn't possibly be that hard!

* * *

Jaune had vastly overestimated the people of Ansel. Though his father Rusl Arc didn't look it, or act it, he WAS a an accomplished and highly regarded huntsman. He was a man of average stature, though he gave off the vibes of someone much more intimidating. He was handsome in many ways though perhaps a little short of beautiful, but his shoulders were broad and his stance strong so he captured a room the second he stood in it. Upon the bridge of his nose there was a single scar that ran across his face from cheek to cheek. If the rumors were to be believed, that was the only scar that Rusl had ever received, as he was regarded as one of the finest swordsman that had ever come from Beacon. How he got that scar, Jaune couldn't say, because every time he asked, Rusl told him a different story. Last time he asked, he had been given it by his wife for goofing off during her sixth pregnancy.

Nonetheless, Rusl was well received by the people of Ansel, they revered him as a hero, when battle came to their town be it from Grimm, bandits or whoever strolled by looking for a fight. Worried for the continued safety and security of his youngest child's future, Rusl had unilaterally decided, after discussing with the family sans Jaune, that Jaune would not be a huntsman. Jaune was too much like his mother, quick to smile, quick to offer a kind word or sentiment, even though he fumbled with words often. He was just…too soft to protect. He needed to be protected. Saffron, the oldest disagreed, sure he would be safe, but would he be happy? She tried countless times to change Rusl's mind, even as he taught and nurtured Arc after Arc, ignoring Jaune. But imploring turned to pleading, pleading turned to begging, and yet his answer never changed. And eventually, Saffron left, although not without letting Jaune know that he might need to search outwards for assistance.

Although it was for naught for it seemed that Rusl had the same idea. No matter where Jaune went, his father had been there first. And although Jaune strongly resembled Rusl in appearance, with his mother's softer features thrown in for good measure, he was nowhere near as intimidating as his father. So he was unable to find anyone in Ansel that would teach him. He considered running away, but with a huntsman father, and with six huntresses in training, how far would he even get before he was caught? No, if he wanted to be a huntsman, and he did, more than anything, he would have to be clever….to do something that none of them would see coming from a mile away…

But what?

Knowing his father's training schedule like the back of his hand by now, fourteen-year-old Jaune silent rose in his bed after he heard the familiar creak that was his father getting up. It had taken him months of planning and questioning the townspeople, but he had a rough idea of what he was going to do now. Before trained any of his sisters, he patrolled the surrounding area, killing any grim that he happened to come across. But one area that he always, always ignored was this old abandoned temple that existed on the other side of town. Jaune wasn't sure why, but it seemed like everyone ignored the temple. And when he asked about it, people gave him puzzled looks or outright ignored the question. It was almost like no one else could see it…but that would be ridiculous! He could see it, so it existed! End of story.

So, after grabbing his grandfather's old sword and shield combo, Crocea Mors from the pedestal it resided on, Jaune set pace to go to the temple. Since it was somewhere that neither his father nor his sisters went to, there were sure to be at least one or two grim there that he could kill and bring back. And surely his father, seeing that he could in fact handle this lifestyle would begin to train him! Or alternatively he would become horrified that Jaune was going out and doing things like this, and train him to ensure that he could protect himself, the next time he decided to do something like this. Either way Jaune would win. Grounding him was useless because he didn't have many friends, any if he was being honest. But he wasn't being honest today and he was going to slay some monsters! Or explore a temple. Most likely both.

As it was still early, and the only people up at this hour were his father and Jaune himself, Jaune didn't bother being stealthy, strolling through the woods idly swinging and slashing Crocea Mors as the desire hit him. It was a really interesting blade, even if his father and none of his siblings liked using it. It was a simple longsword with a blue handle and golden cross-guard. And…that was it. The sheath transformed into a heater shield as well! The shield was white with a gold trim, and displayed the Arc's family symbol in the center. Jaune knew it was pretty durable, as it had apparently been forged several generations beforehand and was still in a good condition. And since no one used it or touched it, it was the perfect weapon for Jaune to practice with. He would simply take it, use it and then put it back before anyone woke up.

And then rinse and repeat until Jaune was the greatest hero to ever hero. Easy enough.

After cutting off a particularly stubborn branch, Jaune stared. Then rubbed his eyes, and stared some more. Staring at him was a mask. A purple, wooden grain textured mask that had been carved into the shape of a heart. Tribal red markings outlined the where the eye holes should have been and wrapped around to taper off the bottom of the heart shape. A series of holes were drilled into the center of the mask as well, akin to hockey mask, to allow the wearer to breath. Unlike a hockey mask however, there were no eyeholes. No, in its place were painted eyes. Well…at least Jaune hoped there were painted. The alternatives were too unsettling to think of. Round concentric rings stared straight back at him with a small pupil being in the center. Above each eye were golden triangles, three on each end. And on each side of the heart, four sharp horns jutted out, making Jaune think of a demon. As a matter of fact, the whole set up made Jaune think of a demon.

Not that the body of the wearer was any less strange. The person was about Jaune's size, only much skinnier. MUCH skinnier. He was practically skin and bones he was so skinny. His arms were unnaturally long too, coming down to his ankles, and from what skin he could see, was mottled grey rather than…a normal color. Maybe he was a faunus…?

He seemed to ill-fitting clothes, only wearing an overly long rust orange tunic with a belt of leaves wrapping around his waist, making it appear as he was wearing a short skirt. He wore no pants, only brown boots, made out from the same material as the tunic. On his neck was a scarf made of…straw? And on his back he wore a large leaf styled as a cape. Jaune had never seen anything like it.

He was about to say something, anything really when two balls of light, one purple and one yellow suddenly entered his sight. And because they were lights, they hurt being so close to his face. Jaune blinked and stumbled backwards, watching as the…faunus? And the lights began to bob up in down in a motion that Jaune KNEW meant they were laughing at him. He quickly drew Crocea Mors and expanded the heater shield, and got into a position he had seen his dad use once or twice when teaching.

All three of them stopped and eyed his sword and shield with interest. Or at least that's what Jaune thought they were doing, as he couldn't see any of their eyes at all. Then the mask tilted one hundred and eighty degrees, staring at him from a new, strange angle. Any response that Jaune would have made died in his throat. This had to be a monster. Suddenly the creature began to float and lunged at him.

In response, Jaune dropped his sword and immediately hid behind his shield, cursing himself for his stupidity. After several moments of no attacks, or anything really Jaune cautiously opened his eyes and looked upwards, as looking to the sides was liable to get him kicked in the face. Not that the upwards appearance made him feel any better. For there, either floating above his shield, was that creepy masked monster again. He emitted a strange sound that Jaune now identified as a giggle and kicked Jaune's shield with one foot, while a unnaturally long arm reached out and grabbed the shield.

So as a result, Jaune flew back a couple feet from the force of the blow, stunned, but not wounded while his shield remained firmly in the masked monster's grasp. While Jaune regained his bearings, and gathered his courage, the masked monster and his lights were examining Jaune's shield, looking it over every which way. After combing every inch of the shield with his hands, the monster eventually made it retract into its scabbard form. With a noise of surprise, it expanded it again.

Expand.

Contract.

Expand.

Contract.

Jaune eyed the monsters, realizing that he had been forgotten. If he timed it just right, he could grab his shield back and begin his counterattack. And then he would slay this thing and go show his family that he could be a huntsman like they were. It was fool proof.

Expand.

Contract.

Expand

Contrac-

On the last contraction, Jaune leapt forward, releasing a battle cry as he did so. The three startled, having truly forgotten he was there, and in the confusion, Jaune managed to grab the scabbard, luckily grabbing the top part rather than the pointed end. He was prepared to yank it from the monster's grip, when the thing bolted, flying away at a breakneck speed, with scabbard, and now Jaune still in its grasp. And now Jaune had no choice but to hang on for dear life, because at the speed they were going, one stray hit would spell the end of him.

As it was, it looked the stray hits from errant would also be the end of him, albeit in a slower, more gradual pace then the instant death letting go would give him. Jaune winced with each branch that sliced across his cheek, one even being strong enough to draw blood. And, much to Jaune's ever increasing horror, he found that his hands were slipping, which wasn't too surprising, as by this point. He eyed his hands with trepidation as they slowly inched off Crocea Mors.

Inch by Inch, until, with a yelp Jaune's hands slid off the scabbard and he plummeted to his death...is what should have happened. What Jaune expected to happen. Instead, what happened is that Jaune fell into a hole. Jaune closed his eyes, and braced for impact. But it never came. Jaune opened his eyes again, but what he saw was no different than when his eyes were closed. Darkness. And so he reclosed them, awaiting the splat for when he hit the ground.

But Jaune fell.

And fell.

And fell.

And Jaune must have lost consciousness or fell asleep or even died at some point because he knew no more.

* * *

It was the voice that woke Jaune up, speaking to him in a strange accent that he couldn't quite place.

"Eh-hee-hee…You have the same smell as the fairy kid who taught me that song in the woods…"

Jaune blinked and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He wasn't hurt…well aside from the scrapes and cuts he got being dragged through the forest, so he assumed he fell asleep…? He quickly stood as he remembered the events preceding his fainting spell. There, in front of him was that masked monster, still floating leisurely in front of him. Now talking. In English.

"That guy isn't here anymore. Anybody who comes into the forest will be lost. Everybody will become a Stalfos. Everybody. Stalfos. So he's not here anymore. Hee hee."

"So not a monster," Jaune muttered to himself as he shifted into what he hoped was a threatening combat position. "Just a crazy person." Did that make it better or worse?

"What's with you? You're nothing like he was! You don't fight, and you don't listen! There's no point in playing a game with someone like that, so I'll do you a favor and just end you! Hee hee…"

It was worse. Way worse.

"Wait. What did you say?!" Jaune asked as the person's words caught up to him. But it was too late, he was already doing something else, seemingly holding up his hands in a prayer position and screaming. Jaune retrieved his scabbard, opening it and holding his shield in a loose guard position with both hands, ready to defend against whatever came his way. When nothing happened, even the person had stopped his screaming, Jaune cautiously peeked out from behind his shield.

PAIN

Suddenly Jaune was hit with a wave of pain, all throughout his body. His insides felt like they were on fire, or maybe they were! Jaune had no way of knowing. He dropped to his knees in agony as he felt his bones break and move around into strange uncomfortable positions. As his insides were burning he didn't quite feel it, but he was aware that his body was tingling all over and the ground was getting closer and closer to his face, even though he was already on his knees and hadn't laid down quite yet.

What had that thing done to him?!

He tried to let out a piercing scream or even to ask him to stop this but what came out instead was howl. Like from an animal. And just like that, the pain stopped. Jaune tried to stand up only to immediately realize that something was different. And that something was…everything. He again tried ask what happened or what had been done to him only for a growl to come from his throat instead. At that, he panicked and tried to reach back for his shield, only to stop when he realized that his arm could no longer reach behind him. He stared at his arm in confusion, only to figure out with startling clarity what the person had done to him, why he had been in such pain.

He had been turned into a wolf. That's what the pain was, his body shifting to that of a wolf. And now he lacked the ability to hold a sword, to talk, to do anything. What was he going to do now? He was going to bite the neck of the man that did this to him is what he was going to do. He narrowed his eyes at the imp, and growled letting him know his intention to do just that.

"Quite an unusual face you have there. Hee hee! I like it! It makes you look a little bit tougher! Hey, maybe you can play the game with me after all…" As he spoke he slowly began to float backwards. "Come find me whenever you're ready! You're the Oni!" He said as he flew through a door that closed behind him.

Ignoring the Imp's strange words as they currently weren't of use to him, Jaune slowly maneuvered each limb, trying to get a sense of how movement would work as a wolf. Jaune was a firm believer in crawling before you walked, so he needed to be sure that he could move when he needed to. It would be very bad to be stuck in a weird position and to be unable to run because he hadn't practiced. After Jaune got his maneuverability to a level that he was alright with, he decided to move forward.

He was still in a forest, as far as he could tell, but nothing that he recognized. Of course, he had also never gone this deep into the woods before, so for all he knew this was normal. The only thing in the portion of the woods with him was the door that the monster had floated through and a hollowed out tree that served as a tunnel that led somewhere else. And because Jaune lacked the hands to open the door, not that he saw any handles or conceivable way to open the door anyhow, he decided to go through the tunnel. At the very end of the tunnel was another door, that opened as soon as Jaune got close enough to walk through it. With much trepidation, he stepped through.

As soon as Jaune entered the door he felt like he had made a mistake. One reason that he felt that way was because the door closed once he had completed walking through it and then bars came down after that, ensuring that he couldn't retreat. Oh well, then all Jaune could do was press forward right?

Not exactly.

On the positive side, Jaune could literally see another door to go through. It was placed inside yet another tunnel, next to what looked like a carving of a little tree person. On the downside…it was on another platform at a distance that Jaune couldn't hope to cross.

Wait.

Could he cross that? When Jaune first thought of that distance, he was thinking of how far he could jump as normal human Jaune. The Jaune he had grown up as. Now while a Huntsman could make that jump easily, Jaune wasn't a huntsman. Which was a problem. Now what Jaune was, was a wolf. Which…probably could make that jump. Not that he had any other options. The door behind him was locked after all. After staring at the chasm for a while, Jaune couldn't help noticing that his eyes kept leaning towards a particular part of the platform. Not the top which he wanted to jump but something on the Cliffside. It was nothing of notice, just a indention. From this distance, Jaune couldn't tell if it was jutting inwards or outwards.

After studying the platform for a while, and realizing that he couldn't stop his eyes from going back to that indentation for some reason or another, Jaune decided to leap for the indentation. He was immediately rewarded with grasping the indentation and learning that it was in fact a foothold for him to spring onto. And realizing that, Jaune felt his eyes track another foothold and leapt forward before he could fall. Jaune did this several more times, growing more and more confident in his abilities as he did so. And in no time, he was on the last platform, studying the carving in front of the tunnel intently.

What he had thought was a statue was in actuality a tree. It had just grown and warped into the close approximation of a person. Who happened to be in pain. It was fairly uncomfortable to look at, but Jaune couldn't look away. The more he stared at it, the more he was reminded of how he felt when he had been turned into a wolf by that monster person. Maybe this was what he had intended? He had seemed surprised that Jaune had survived it, and became a wolf instead of…death. Or turning into a tree person, Jaune thought, suddenly glad that he had turned into a wolf. He could still move and find a way to reverse this. Unlike this guy. Or maybe Jaune was wrong and it was just a creepy tree.

And with a wordless prayer for the person or maybe it was a tree(?), Jaune moved forward, running through the door as soon as it opened.

* * *

"Oh…you've met with a terrible fate, haven't you? Now don't think me rude, but I have been following you…For I know of a way to return you to your former self."

Jaune startled when those words were uttered the second the door opened. Then he saw the person speaking said words and then found himself startling again. For staring at him was a ghost. Or at least, Jaune was pretty sure it was a ghost. Standing before him was a knight covered in armor. But what parts weren't covered in armor, revealed blue, pallid skin that had decaying appearance. His face had no skin at all, it was merely a skeleton. On his hip were a rusting sword and shield. And now that Jaune studied him closer, he realized that his torso and legs weren't connected by skin. They just hung there as if connected by some unseen force. His eye, the only one he had, glowed with a red, ethereal light, while the other socket was empty.

All in all, he cut a terrifying figure, and Jaune immediately prepared for battle.

But the skeletal knight held up a hand, stopping Jaune before he could do anything that he would regret.

"Hold young one, I mean you no harm. I was merely repeating something that was said to me a long time ago." What Jaune assumed was supposed to be a smile crossed the knight's face. "I suppose it still fits now, all things considered. But the fact that you are here now…in that form…? Could it be?" The knight said to himself, seeming to grow more and more excited as he talked.

Jaune had no earthly idea what the ghost was talking about, so he sat on his haunches and watched the ghost pace around the room, talking to himself. Now that he wasn't so spooked he could tell a little bit more about where he was. It looked like…the inside of a tower? There were two floors which were connected by a long ramp. Jaune and the knight were on the bottom level, and there was a higher level that Jaune couldn't quite see. All Jaune could see was the ramp, that led to something upstairs and then a waterwheel that was being spun in place by a small river. Jaune idly wondered if it was the same river that ran through his town, but he wrongfully assumed that he would never find out.

"Child. I have a request of you. Whether you accept it or not I will return you to normal. Will you hear my plea?" The knight spoke suddenly, catching Jaune's attention. After some careful consideration, and noting that the knight said that he would return him to normal whether he helped the knight or not, Jaune decided to accept. After all, when someone helps you out, it's only natural to return the favor right? That's what his mom always said anyway. So with a bark and a nod, he prepared to listen to the ghost.

"First, a little history, so you know how this world became the way it is. This world that you know as Remnant, was once known as Hyrule. The land I was born in, and the land I fought and bled for. Before time began, before spirits and life existed, three golden goddesses descended upon the chaos that was Hyrule. These three goddesses were Din, the Goddess of Power; Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom; and Farore, the Goddess of Courage.

The Golden Goddesses each infused the land with their own powers. Din, with her strong, flaming arms, cultivated the land and created the red earth. Hence, she created the very earth from which life in Hyrule would spring. Nayru poured her wisdom onto the earth and gave the spirit of law to the world, thus establishing order in a formerly chaotic world. She was responsible for the creation of the laws of the universe, including the laws of science and wizardry that would govern Hyrule and the universe at large. Farore, with her rich soul, produced all life forms that would uphold the law established by Nayru. As the mother of all life in the universe, she created the beings that would walk the earth, fly in the sky, and swim in the waters.

The three Golden Goddesses, their labors completed, departed for the heavens from a parallel dimension connected to the land of Hyrule, a realm of midday golden skies and a place where the spirits could roam free. A temple dedicated to the element of light was set at the heart of this Golden Land and the Goddesses departed from the point atop the pyramidal temple, leaving behind a symbol of their power at the point atop the temple. This symbol, a golden triangle composed of three smaller triangles united to form one, came to be known as the Triforce, a relic of omnipotent and omniscient power.

For many ages, humanity lived in peace. However, knowledge of the mythical Sacred Realm and the all-powerful Triforce contained within spread across the land. It was into this time that Princess Zelda was born. Now, Zelda was an anomaly. For you see, though she was born to a family of magicians, she had no magic herself. She traveled far and wide, trying to find some way to gain the power needed to remain in power, in a family of magic users. She then came across an evil creature. This creature fed on the desires of humans who had come from all corners of the world, trying to claim its armor and be granted their wishes. Zelda conversed with this creature, who revealed that it wanted to die, being so miserable. Zelda then pulled out her ocarina and started playing. Zelda played for three days straight and on the third day, the beast dropped dead. She then took its magical armor, but instead of wishing upon it, she carved it into a series of masks, intending to use the beast's powers for herself. She gathered several like-minded individuals and having given them one of her masks, and they conspired to gain control of the Triforce for themselves. Through her actions and hers alone, Hyrule fell into a state of civil war as everyone fought to gain control of the Triforce. However, what was not known, what wasn't told about the Triforce, was that if a person whose power, wisdom, and courage were not in perfect harmony were to lay her hands on it, the Triforce would shatter into its three separate pieces. The person would keep the piece that represents their most developed quality, and the other two would seek out a hiding place in the bodies of those chosen by destiny. So when Zelda laid her hands upon the Triforce, this came to be and the Triforce shattered, sending the three pieces, Power, Wisdom, and Courage, into the bodies of Ozma, Zelda, and Myself, respectively."

The knight paused for a moment, stopping to make sure that Jaune was following along properly. After seeing that he was, it even appeared that Jaune was spellbound by the tale, the knight continued.

"I have lived a life that was very fruitful and pleasing to me. But I lived it out regretting two things: The past and the future. As I was Zelda's sworn champion, I regret not seeing the turmoil that she was in. I could see the struggle mind you, but I underestimated the depths of despair she felt. That's one regret that I shall endure until the end of time. Me and Ozma did fight, and indeed slay Zelda and peace reigned…for a time. Ozma vanished into the unknown and I settled down and had children. Life was good.

And then Zelda rose again. Although I had children, none of them were heroes. None could take up the mantle I had left. My life transpired, and I have been here ever since, waiting for the new hero to appear. I reached my death, taking all of my skills, my knowledge, and my regrets to the grave, and still, it was not yet the end."

One ghostly pale hand reached towards his scabbard, moved it aside and pulled out an…an ocarina. He raised it slowly to his face, glowing eye locking Jaune in place. "Before I continue with my favor, I would like to speak to you, face to face. Give me a moment." He put the ocarina to his face, and a beautiful melody began to play from it. Jaune stared, transfixed by the melody, not even noticing as the fur receded from his body, his teeth flattening and shrinking to their normal position, and other various changes. Before long, Jaune Arc sat before the knight, who studied his figure intently, before nodding to himself.

"As I thought. Child, there is a spirit that is housed within those who become true heroes. To be a hero is to be part of a specific bloodline and to the possess the spirit of the sublime beast. This power is something that flows in the blood of every hero. The Triforce of Wisdom and Power grant their bearers many powers, one of them being an immortality of sorts. They will not die by normal means, which was my failing, not having known that. The Triforce of Courage does not grant that. As far as I can tell, one of the few abilities that I have noticed is that we are protected against magic. As evidenced by the failed curse that Skull Kid placed on you. In fact, one bearer of the Triforce even transformed into a wolf at one point…rather than becoming a lost soul like everyone else in his time period. Do you understand where I am going with this?"

Jaune nodded eagerly. That meant that the tree that Jaune had studied earlier, was in fact once a person. And that Stalfos person tried to do the same thing to him, and it failed because he was the hero! He had known the whole time that he was a hero and this proved it! He couldn't wait to tell his father….

Wait.

"Um, sir where exactly am I? And how am I going to get home? I need to tell my father that I'm a hero, and he'll be sure to train me this time!" Jaune asked, waving his arms around excitedly. Not only was he ecstatic from the good news that the Ghost knight had told him, he was equally happy to finally be a human again. Sure he had lost the Crocea Mors blade, but he still had the scabbard! That was something.

"Child…when the Skull kid donned the mask, it transformed your town, your home into this place. It's a combination of the evil within the Mask, and the Skull kid's memories and delusions. The Skull kid remembered me, and thus I was able to be given form here. If you want to see your father…and your family again, then you will have to destroy the mask.

Jaune stared at the man, eyes glazed over in thought. This was his home? It looked nothing like Ansel! How was he supposed to find and beat that kid? Sure he was immune to magic, but was that really the only advantage he had? Jaune was starting to tremble just thinking about fighting him! Jaune's trembling was stopped when a pale hand placed itself on his head, ruffling his hair.

"A sword wields no strength, unless the hand that holds it has courage. What is your name child?"

"Me? Uh, I'm Jaune. Jaune Arc."

"Fear not Jaune. For you are not alone. My name is Link, and I promise you that I will ensure that you have the skills necessary to save your home. And if you would like, I will also help you become the hero that we both know you can be."

Jaune stared at the ghost…no at Link. Aside from Saffron, no one had ever believed in him. Had promised to help him. It made his heart hurt from happiness, which he didn't realize was a thing. Unable to speak, he simply nodded, reaching up to wipe at his eyes. If he didn't know better, he would say that the water wheel behind was kicking up a storm! He was getting splashed all over his face. Someone needed to look into that.

"And before we move forward, here" Link said, tossing Jaune something, he quickly stopped wiping at his eyes and caught the bundle that Link seemingly pulled out of nowhere. Jaune unwrapped the bundle to see, a sword. It was an arming sword, a beautifully designed arming sword at that. The sword had green grip with a yellow cross guard on it. It was double edged sword with a narrow riccaso that jutted out in the shape of wings. It had a diamond shaped gemstone embedded the cross guard that glowed with a dull light. The blade itself had a unique pattern on it, reminiscent of…. well to be honest, it reminded Jaune of train tracks. "The Lokomo sword was a gift from one of the spirits. As such, it's filled with sacred energy…or it was at least. It has felled many evil creatures in its lifetime. Before me, and now you, only spirits have wielded this blade. The fact that you can even touch the blade speaks you being the hero. It doesn't…play well with strangers shall we say."

Jaune stared at his new sword, transfixed in awe. Unlike the Crocea Mors this was…well technically this was a hand me down too, but it had only been handed down once! So it was more like an heirloom than anything else! He immediately began to swing it around, testing its weight and making other movements that he thought looked cool. He was stopped when Link grabbed his wrist. Jaune froze at the touch, but relaxed when Link started to tutor him.

"When using an arming sword, there are typically two grips that one uses. The first is a hammer grip. This tends to be for close in work, used in conjunction with a large shield. It's a strong grip and delivers hard blows and thrusts, but is harder to maintain edge alignment and point control with. You also sacrifice reach. It works well with a large shield held close to the body because the angle of the sword allows for thrusting around. It. This method is not for you, although I do want you to be aware of it.

Now, since your sword has guard on it, we're going to place a finger over the cross guard. This will give you more leverage and point control, especially in thrusts. Imagine holding a broomstick in your hand, and pointing at something with your index finger while holding it in the same direction. Your wrist can rotate, but stays in a braced neutral position. Like so," Link said as he moved Jaune's hands into the correct position, and helped him move in a variety of different positions. "Now, ordinarily you would not do this, as placing your finger over the cross guard does in fact leave your hand exposed. The cross guard is there to protect so you're sacrificing that. If you have a shield though, which you do, it will be doing the vast majority of the defensive work. So we're allowed to sacrifice a little of the protection in favor of more range."

Jaune nodded, and Link stepped back to allow Jaune to practice holding and moving his sword in his new grip. Jaune was a surprisingly good student, Link had decided. He didn't fuss or argue with Link's tutelage or reasoning, he just adjusted what he was doing and then kept at it. If Jaune took to everything that Link had to show him like that, then Jaune would end being a very powerful hero. But then again, every incarnation that Link had ever seen, himself included ended up being fairly powerful. But luckily for Jaune, Link had picked up a couple of new tricks in the time since he was alive. Or maybe it wasn't so lucky, considering that Zelda was bound to have picked up some new tricks as well. All he could do, was make sure that Jaune received every single bit of knowledge that Link had gained in regards to fighting and surviving. By the time Link was done, Jaune would be the greatest Hero or Huntsman that every lived.

He couldn't afford not to be.


	2. Chapter 2

Clock Town, or the town that was formerly known as Ansel was huge. Jaune had known this intellectually, but having grown up in Ansel, he had largely ignored that fact. Now that it had been transformed into Clock Town however…

Clock Town was huge. Clock Town consisted of four main sections, each one named after the four directions of North, South, East and West. It was also completely surrounded on all sides by tall walls that made Jaune think of castles. Ordinarily that would be suffocating but Clock Town was so gigantic that the walls were basically background. What helped liven the place up was the fact that all the walls were also painted with colorful patterns, no matter where Jaune looked.

All in all Jaune preferred Clock Town to Ansel if he was being honest. But this place wasn't real, and he had a mission to complete and people to save! And the first step to doing that was to gather information!

When Jaune had asked Link where he should start or how exactly he should begin, Link just stared blankly at him before shrugging.

"While I could walk you through this whole adventure step by step, what value would there be in it for you? This journey is yours Jaune, my only goal here is to guide you, not lead you." And then Link closed his eyes and said no more.

But that was enough for Jaune Arc to go on. And he decided that the first thing he would do was to check out the city, verify if in fact, everything about Ansel had changed, and if it hadn't, what had stayed the same and why?

And if everything had in fact changed…at the very least Jaune would know his way around Clock Town.

It was a win win situation. And those were the best kind of wins in Jaune's humble opinion. Now he had heard that there was an area called a 'Laundry Pool' and he wanted to see if it was in fact a giant hole full of laundry, or if it was just a pool where people actually did their laundry. Either way people tended to gossip while they did laundry right? His mom did anyway, so that made it as good a place as any to start. Decision made, he asked a kindly old man for directions and was on his way to the Laundry Pool.

The Laundry Pool was a small, closed off area that was attached to South Clock Town. It had a pool of water that was located in the center, where Jaune assumed the townsfolk came to wash their laundry. And definitely not swim in. Probably. Something else to investigate in the future. There was a door hidden in the side of the Laundry Pool with a bell attached to it, but when Jaune rang it, nothing happened so he abandoned that exploration. There was a lone park bench sitting against the wall, but no one was sitting on it so Jaune claimed it for himself to scout out the area and to see if there was anything here that was suspicious.

But it seemed like there was nothing…wait a second. Jaune blinked, rubbed his eyes and stared upwards once again. No, what he was seeing was…actually there. What it was still remained a very very good question.

It looked like a man, albeit a little one. He wore a forest green body suit, and…that was it. Well he also wore bright red underwear…only on the outside of his clothes rather than the inside like a normal person. Around his neck was a clock that was being worn like a necklace, and he wore a backpack that had a balloon in it, which was keeping him afloat. Or maybe the balloon was the backpack? Jaune didn't know. He had a bright bulbous red nose and bright red cheeks to match. And his beard was sharp, little and jutted out from where Jaune imagined his chin was. And Jaune really really really didn't want to talk to this man, but he was easily the most interesting person Jaune had seen to date.

He HAD to know something. Or he could at least point Link in the right direction. The only question was…how to get in touch with the man? Jaune's eyes wandered the Laundry Pool again as he debated on how to reach the man…but nothing stuck.

Bell? No, that wouldn't work.

Slide? No, too high for Jaune to jump.

Teenage boy trying to shoot down the balloon with a blow dart? That had some potential. Jaune hopped off the bench and approached the boy, waiting to be noticed. After some time passed without him seeing Jaune at all, he helped it along by clearing his throat.

The boy, hearing Jaune clear his throat, jumped and began scanning his surroundings wildly, before Jaune sighed and tapped him on his shoulder, forcing the boy to jump and whirl around him.

"You're very skilled to have snuck up on me! Are you here to join the Bomber Squad?!" He asked, saying everything loudly and without taking a single breath. Jaune was sort of impressed.

"Uh…I just…" Jaune tried, before being interrupted again.

"Say no more, new recruit! But before you join up, you have to pass our test!" He said as he reached into his pocket and pulled a whistle, and proceeded to blow into it. A shrill piercing sound was emitted from the whistle, a sound that Jaune was sure could be heard throughout all of Clocktown.

Within moments, Jaune found himself staring at five more teens, in addition to the first one. Now that Jaune studied them closely, he realized that his original estimation of their age was off. He would actually put their ages closer to twelve or thirteen rather than the fourteen or fifteen he had originally thought.

They all stood at roughly the same height, which was only a little shorter than Jaune himself. They all wore matching clothes of a simple white long sleeved shirt with black sleeves, and blue capri shorts. And they all wore the same brown boots. In all honesty they all looked frighteningly alike. On their heads they all wore blue bandanas, except for the whistle blower who wore a red one. Jaune assumed that made him the leader.

"All right men!" The red one stated, as the others all lined up and saluted, "We have a new recruit wanting to join the Bombers!"

"Eh…?" One of them said, tilting his head. "A new member? I thought we weren't accepting any new members after the Skull kid…?" He said, trailing off at the end.

"No! Wrong! We only accept humans now! No skull kids! No faunus! Only humans!" Another said, hitting the first one's shoulders.

"Yeah Skull kid ruined it for everyone…us included." A third piped up.

Jaune's ears perked up the second he heard Skull kid. He still needed to talk to the green man because Jaune was sure that the man knew SOMETHING, but that became low priority to joining the Bombers. Especially if Skull Kid had been a member and they had information on him. And possibly anyone else that the Skull Kid had dealt with.

"I'm Jaune Arc! It's short, sweet and rolls off the tongue! The ladies love it! I'm here to join the bombers!"

They all stared blankly at his intro, making him feel that he had made a mistake. Actually running back what he had said, he KNEW it was a mistake. Further proven when they had all started laughing.

The leader stopped laughing first, clapping his hands on his knees. "Oh man, you're a riot Jaune! I really hope you pass! I'm Jim, the leader of the Bombers." He pulled out his whistle again, "Bombers! Sound off!"

"RIGHT"

"I'm Bruce, I'm the best at hiding things!"

"I'm Clark! I'm the best at finding information!"

"I'm Remy! I'm a hit with the ladies!"

At that introduction Jaune winced. He was never going to say that to anyone again now that he could visually see and hear how something like that sounded. He also wondered why he said that when he literally just laughed at Jaune saying something similar.

"I'm Danny! I'm good at recording information!"

"And I'm Ben! I keep track of finances!"

"It's nice to meet all of you." Jaune said, and it was. This was the first set of people that Jaune talked to that was his own age that didn't react to the Arc part of his name. And although he couldn't really tell them apart quite yet…he resolved to do so. As soon as he got into the bombers gang. He needed their information.

"All right recruit Arc! For your initiation…we're going to play a game of hide and seek! We're all going to hide in Clock Town, and you have to find all of us!"

Jaune nodded, thinking that it didn't sound so bad…hide and seek couldn't be too difficult right?

"You have one hour."

Jaune just had to jinx himself. That made things a bit harder.

"Do you think you can find us all recruit!" Jim asked, locking eyes with Jaune.

It wasn't a question.

Jaune felt his lips curl into a smile as an answer.

"That'll be no problem."

* * *

It actually wasn't as hard as Jaune thought it would be to find a Bomber. The first one that Jaune had found was actually Ben who hadn't bothered to leave the Laundry Pool. He found the youth hiding behind the slide.

No, the hard part was actually catching him. The bugger was fast. And he was particularly good at changing directions on a dime without losing any of his momentum, something Jaune was going to have to ask him to teach him. But catch him Jaune did, leaving him to sulk and stand next to the slide he had been hiding next to.

Jaune eyed him for a second, before shrugging and going on his way. He still had five more Bombers to find after all.

"Those Bomber brats are doing their hide and seek game again! The very least they could do is find new spots to hide in!"

Jaune's ears perked up as he heard one man gripe to another as they picked up their belongings that someone, or someones apparently knocked over in their haste to hide. He quickly scrambled down to help the men pick their items.

"Um excuse me sir? I couldn't help but overhear that those um..brats you said? They always hide in the same spots? Every time?"

The man, stared at him for a second before nodding. "Yeah, every single time they have one of those games of theirs, they hide in the same freaking locations. Which is annoying normally, but we don't have time to deal with them today!"

"Having them hiding around would in fact make it harder for us to evacuate…" The other man, a guard of some kind chimed in, causing the first man to shake his fist at the guard, growling.

"We are NOT evacuating! The Skull Kid's threats are idle and hot air!" He roared, making the knight get right back in his face and yell at him.

"Muto, can you not see the moon! Do you really want to chance all of our deaths because of your pride?!"

Before they could get any further into it, Jaune interrupted. All of that information was useful and he WOULD be looking into these two men later, but he was on a time crunch.

"Excuse me guys? Why don't I find those guys for you? Just tell me where they like to hide and I'll go grab them for you, and you can continue…" aune trailed off and made a vague hand motion. "This."

The two men stared at him for a moment, before the bigger one, Muto burst out laughing. "Hahahaha you've got balls kid! That's one way to play hide and seek! You cheater!"

The other man stared thoughtfully at Jaune. "In times of war, getting results quickly matter much more than the means that you get them. My name is Captain Viscen. After you finish playing with the Bombers, come find me. I have something to ask you."

After committing both of their names to memory, and learning exactly where each Bomber would be, Jaune went to go find them. His list of things to do just kept growing and growing it looked like.

* * *

"Eh...I can't believe he found all of us!" Danny said, kicking his feet in frustration. The other bombers were no better, with the exception of Jim, they were all in various states of unhappiness, sulking in various positions.

"Come on guys! There's no need for that! This just means we have a new Bomber to hang out with!"

All of their expressions brightened at that thought.

"Yeah!"

"You're right!"

"I'm not the newest anymore!"

Jim silenced the others with a wave of his hand before turning back to Jaune. "You did pretty good Jaune, I wasn't expecting you to find all of us! Especially so quickly!"

"Yeah, what can I say? It's a gift..." Jaune trailed off, not wanting to go into the specifics of exactly how he found them. "So what happens now?"

The Bombers all looked at each other, before scrambling to get into a V line formation, with Jim in the center, giving Jaune a thumbs up.

"We're the Bombers Secret Society of Justice! We're the truth seekers, and bringers of justice whose only goal is do good and help everyone in Clock Town. You Jaune, have proven that you have what it takes to be a Bomber of Justice! Do you swear to uphold our values?"

Was this real? Jaune wondered...oh they wanted a response.

"I do."

"Do you swear to do everything you can to help the citizens of Clock Town, no matter what they need?"

"I do."

"And do you promise to not betray us, in any way shape or form?"

"I do."

"Well...that's it then. Welcome to the Bombers Jaune." Jim said, tossing Jaune a bandanna that was a pale yellow color. "That color shows that you're the newest member of the Bombers. You don't have to wear it on your head, but you do have to wear it somewhere on your person."

Jaune nodded as he tied the bandanna around his bicep, listening to Jim as he continued. "The first thing I'm going to need you to do is to go the Astronomy Tower to meet the Professor. He likes to meet us every now and then and update us on what's happening in the town. He knows everything!"

"So go meet the professor in the astronomy tower. You guys aren't coming with?" Jaune asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Nah, we have our own clientele of people who need our help. You're going to have to find your own people to help...that's what being a member of Justice is all about!" And with his final piece said, and one last thumbs up, Jim and the others ran off.

Jaune hummed thoughtfully as he watched them leave. Captain Vishnu, and the Professor...technically Vishnu said to come see him after he was done with the Bombers stuff, and Jim told him to go introduce himself to the Professor so...he wasn't done right?

Idea confirmed, Jaune headed to the astronomy tower, ready to meet this Professor. If he really knew everything, this was sure to be interesting.

* * *

What Jim had neglected to tell Jaune was that the Astral Observatory, which is what they had meant when they said observatory, was not in Clock Town. But rather it was outside of it. Which had forced Jaune to be creative in how he was actually going to leave Clock Town to reach it.

So here he was, having managed to sneak out of Termina, hopelessly lost and trying to find a trail that would lead him somewhere.

Anywhere really.

"I should have met up with Captain Vishnu..." Jaune groaned to himself, as he marched through the grass, only to feel his foot get stuck in something...that felt weird. It was almost like sticking his finger in jello, only...it was his foot.

Jaune stopped, and slowly looked down to see what he had stepped in that felt so weird. He looked at the thing that he had stepped on and hopped back in alarm, drawing his sword as he did so.

What he was looking at, what he had stepped in was...Jaune didn't know what he was looking at to be honest. It looked like a bottom heavy blob of jelly. Green Jelly. It had a large mouth with crooked teeth that was leering at him and had rounded eyes on stalks that were narrowed in anger, probably from being stepped on if Jaune was being honest.

It leered at him some more, before hopping at him in what Jaune assumed was an attempt at a lunge. Jaune took a step back and made sure to stay out of the monster's range as he studied it some more. Whatever this was, it clearly wasn't that big of a threat, but not everyone carried weapons like Jaune did and it could possibly smother someone if it caught them.

"Sorry little guy." Jaune said, as he thrust his sword straight into the center of the body and then ripping it out savagely. It let out a high pitched squeal as Jaune's blade left its body before vanishing in a cloud of smoke, leaving behind nothing but a couple of green jewels.

Jaune looked at the jewels, before shrugging and pocketing them. So the monsters here left money when they died. Could be a useful way to earn some money, when he needed it. Which he did. Or he would. Jaune wasn't sure how long he was going to be here so it was best to be prepared.

At least the monsters were easy to kill. And by the time he found somewhere, whether it be the observatory, Clock Town, or what have you he was bound to be rich.

There was that at least. Was what Jaune wanted to say before three more of the jelly creatures jumped out at him. He now understood that they made up for their utter lack of danger or combat capabilities in sheer numbers.

He redrew his blade and this time equipped his shield to his arm as well. The tall grass that they were coming out in only helped their cause and hindered him. He couldn't see them nor could he hear them due to the fact that they were made of jelly and whatever noise they did make was most likely muffled by the grass.

Something bounced off his shield and he instinctively swung out with his sword, missing the jelly creature entirely. He could practically imagine the things laughing at him from their positions hidden in the grass.

Oh wait they had mouths, Jaune wasn't imagining it. They really were laughing at him. It was an annoying 'Kekekeke' sound that immediately set off Jaune's temper. It seemed like they were taking their time so Jaune took a deep breath and recalled Link's lessons on the using his sword and shield in conjunction with each other.

Link had said that his shield was a much larger shield than traditional round shields, so he should treat it as such. He should block with the edge of the shield, rather than the face like he had done with the first attack. The edge was likely to already be closer to the point of an attack so it wouldn't require as much movement to bring it into place.

Speaking of movement, Jaune swung out with his blade right as a jelly came flying at him. His strike did in fact hit the creature, but rather than killing it, it simply batted it away, leaving Jaune by himself in the slightly cut clearing, waiting for another one to attack him.

And there was also the fact that the shield was in fact a weapon as well. Jaune could strike with the edge, or use it to bind his opponents in order to create an opening. The shield gave Jaune something from which to 'catch' an opposing blade, shield or jelly, giving Jaune the purchase with which to move it.

Jaune didn't quite understand it when Link had first explained it to him, but he was starting to understand what exactly Link had meant. The biggest thing that Link had wanted to Jaune to remember was that both his sword and shield could be used for attack AND defense. He drilled it into his head not to get hung up in thinking of his sword being for attack and his shield for defense. That would cause Jaune to not operate at his highest degree of efficiency and leave him open to attacks.

Jaune quickly reviewed all his shield lessons as the laughing lessened and then eventually came to a complete stop. He had briefly considered cutting down the grass and simply hacking at the jellies until they died, but this seemed like a pretty good opportunity to get in some shield practice.

Jaune would much rather practice it before actually needing it after all. What if he had blocked a grim or Zelda with that pathetic block? He would've been mincemeat!

"Focus Jaune!" Jaune snapped back to attention just in time. For a couple of jellies were lunging at him this time.

Play time was over it seemed.

He angled his shield so that the edge would be the first thing one of the jellies would run into, damaging it. This must have the one Jaune had swung at previously, for it immediately burst into smoke, leaving some money for Jaune.

With that one out of the way, and the other jellies too close to aim the edge of his shield at them, Jaune used the much larger face of his shield to bat them away from him, and then leapt forward to slash at them. And now knowing that they required at the very least two hits to kill them, he immediately spun in a circle and slashed them again, cutting the grass and giving them less room to hide in.

In the small break before anything lunged at Jaune, Jaune quickly scooped up all the money that the creatures left. He couldn't help the large grin that grew on his face even as he turned to face the other jellies throwing themselves at him.

Being a hero had never been so rewarding.

* * *

"Is this a barn?" Jaune asked himself as he walked around and into the fenced off property. There was in fact a gate, but Jaune hadn't felt like walking all the way over there so he had simply hopped through. Even though the fence didn't completely surround the property, what wasn't fenced was naturally protected by hedges.

Jaune wasn't sure where he was, but he was positive that someone lived here. Who else would keep this farm in such an excellent condition? He could see a barn where he assumed animals were being kept, and out house where most likely tools were being stored.

There was neatly constructed hen-house that had a small pool behind it. All in all, this was the closest place to Ansel that Jaune had seen. He had to say that he liked it.

He stepped further into the ranch before his slowly sharpening danger sense went off and he began to scan the area. Why was he feeling like this? It was just a farm?

"Don't move. Romani has you in her sights." A girl's voice said from…Jaune wasn't sure where it was coming from actually, but that explained his danger sense.

"Romani? Is that your name?" Jaune asked, putting one foot forward and ignoring her warning. And was rewarded with an arrow inches from his foot.

"Romani SAID don't move."

Jaune gulped and nodded. "Jaune won't move. He promises."

There was a shuffling noise, and then Jaune almost thought he knew where she was hiding. And then Jaune's thoughts were completely wrong as a young girl around his age stepped out from the hen house, rather than the barn Jaune thought she was hiding in.

And once Jaune finally say 'Romani' his breath caught. For she was pretty. Even with her face bunched up in the angry scowl she was throwing at him. She was only a little bit shorter than Jaune himself, and wore a cream colored dress that came down to her shins. And over the jacket she wore a golden bolero jacket with a dragon pin in the center of it. She wore brown boots and currently held a bow and arrow, with an arrow notched and ready to fire if Jaune made any sudden movements.

Her vibrant red hair was plaited with a blue ribbon, Jaune couldn't see how far down her hair went but he guessed it was long. Two long bangs framed either side of her face and her ears were pointed. All in all she was the single most pretty girl Jaune had ever seen.

"Are you here for Romani's cows?! Are you one of THEM?" She asked, blue eyes practically glowing as she hissed the word 'them'.

Jaune rapidly shook his head before speaking. The faster she put the bow down the better. "No, no you got it all wrong! My name's Jaune, and I was just passing by and saw your farm!"

"And you snuck in and didn't go through the gate because…" She asked, lowering her bow a millimeter.

Progress was progress. He hadn't been shot yet at least.

"I wasn't sure how far away the gate was and I had been traveling through the fields and-"

"Wait. You were traveling through the fields?"

"Uh…yeah?"

"By yourself?" She asked again, lowering the bow a little more. She was becoming more and more sure that she wasn't dealing with one of 'them' but she had to be sure.

"Yes…why do you ask?"

"But what about the monsters? The fields are crawling with chu-chus!"

"Chu-chus? Those jelly things? Yeah they were annoying but nothing difficult to handle…" Jaune trailed off, as she had abandoned the bow entirely and was in his face grinning. She was much prettier up close. And scarier.

"Romani's really sorry she shot at you! She just had to be sure that you weren't one of THEM! But you're not one of THEM at all are you? You said your name was Jaune? This is my first time meeting a stranger! You're cute."

Jaune stared at the way too close girl. How was he supposed to respond to that? "I-I…I think you're cute too Romani."

There! He said it! And he didn't stammer on the delivery or anything! He was rewarded but Romani blushing and since he couldn't think of anything new to say they both kind of stood there staring at each other for a while.

Eventually Jaune did work up the nerve to ask. "So what were you doing with the bow? Has someone been attacking the farm?"

Her bright cheery face immediately returned to the dark look that she had been sporting when Jaune had first met her.

"Yes. Ever since Romani's dad died, her sister Cremia has been trying to take care of the ranch. But things have been getting unstable lately. The cows always seem frazzled and angry, and we keep finding broken bottles everywhere. Cremia doesn't believe Romani but she knows who's doing it!"

"Who's doing this and what can I do to help?" Jaune offered immediately. Not only did he want to help Romani with everything he had, as that's what heroes did, but he was also a member of the Bomber Society of Justice which meant that Romani was the first person he would help! And a hero never forgot their first!

"Romani was practicing…For tonight…Tonight…They're coming. They come at night every year when the carnival gets closer. They come riding in a bright shining ball, and many of them come down the barn. My sister won't believe me…but I've seen them. Romani has to protect the farm!" She cried out, with a wild look in her eyes.

Jaune did the only thing that he could think of, which was to grab her into a hug. He could tell that she was starting to freak out and he hoped that his presence would calm her down at least a little. Or it could have had the opposite. He hadn't considered that.

But the arms snaking around his waist told him that he had made the right call. She buried her head in his shoulder and made a deep exhale. Jaune rubbed her back soothingly, wishing he knew the right words to say. He didn't want to mess this up.

"Hey Romani, don't…don't worry about it. I'll help you with everything I have and we'll protect the cows AND stop them from coming back ever again."

Romani didn't say anything, she merely tightened her grip. Eventually she started talking again. Despite how close they were, Jaune still had to strain to hear her.

"They've been coming here every year since I was ten. I tried to tell people, but they wouldn't believe Romani…or they would scoff and laugh. Romani's been fighting them since alone for so long…you're really going to help Romani?"

Jaune loosened their hug so he could look into her eyes. She wasn't quite crying yet, but she appeared to be close. Jaune was no stranger to being ostracized or laughed at so even if he hadn't had a instant crush on Romani…

Even if he wasn't going out of his way to help everyone that he came across…

Even if he lacked the ability to fight or contribute or anything…

He would help her. Because that's what heroes did.

"I promise."


	3. Chapter 3

The plan was simple. Romani would station herself in the barn in order to protect the cows and to provide artillery support. While Jaune would have to fight and defeat them outside. Jaune was a little nervous about...every single aspect of the plan, but he was determined to not let Romani down so he fought down his nerves.

Romani told him everything she knew about THEM which wasn't much, but it did help a little. Originally, they used to come two days before the carnival of time and try to steal their cows. Apparently Romani's Ranch was famous for it's Chateau Romani, something that Romani had admitted her sister wouldn't let her drink until she was at least seventeen, so she didn't really see the appeal.

The first year they attacked two days before the carnival. The year after that they came a week before the carnival. And the third year? A month. It was hard to predict, but Romani was nothing if not tenacious. It took longer than she'd admit, but she eventually began to notice the signs that heralded that they were coming, which led her to this point. It was three months before the carnival, they had literally just formed the committee to plan out the carnival and they were already gearing up to attack.

If it had been just her, she might have given up. She had been fighting THEM for four years now and had received nothing but loss and scorn. She and her sister barely talked at this point, Cremia believing that Romani was lying and actively hurting the animals, causing them to spook. Romani couldn't believe that Cremia wouldn't believe her, and appalled that she thought her capable of something like that. She would never look at Cremia the same.

But she wasn't alone. Because Jaune was there with her. Not only that, but he believed her, and together they would fight and defeat THEM for good. No. One way or another, this would end tonight.

But first they would need to prepare, get to know each other. Things like that. Romani needed to know everything about her teammate to make fighting easier right?

"Romani's name is Romani Tearju! She's fourteen years old and a skilled marksman with the bow and arrow! Romani's pretty strong as well, she has to take care of the farm animals all by herself. Her favorite animal is the chicken and her least favorite is the bison! Romani's dream is to see the world!"

Jaune smiled at her before adjusting his seating position. Romani insisted that they hold this impromptu hang session in the hen house, rather than...anywhere else really. It was a bit uncomfortable, but she clearly liked it here and he was slowly getting used to it.

"Well, my name's Jaune Arc, I'm fourteen years old as well, and I'm pretty good at the sword and shield. I don't have any ranged capabilities at the moment…" Jaune trailed off as he got an idea. "Hey after this, would you mind teaching me how to use a bow? I can teach you how to use a sword in exchange?"

At Romani's eager nod, he continued with his introduction. "I'm the youngest of eight children-"

"Eight?! Romani finds Cremia super annoying a lot of the time. She couldn't imagine having seven older siblings!"

"Yeah it's the worst. I come from a family of heroes, it's all I've ever wanted to do. But my family wouldn't let me. They wouldn't teach me, and made pretty damn sure I couldn't learn. So...long story short, here I am, trying to be a hero to prove them wrong." Jaune said, before hurriedly adding. "'Oh yeah and my favorite animal is the flamingo and my least favorite is a giraffe."

"A flamingo?" Romani laughed, grabbing at her sides.

"Hey! It's a noble animal! They're pretty awesome! And what about chickens?"

"Hey! Have you ever seen chickens fight? Romani has, and it's pretty terrifying!"

Jaune shrugged, he had never seen any animals fight, so he would have to take her word for it.

* * *

Before they knew it, it was time. Romani and Jaune had long since stopped talking, having decided to simply sit next to each other in silence. Eventually Jaune stood up, brushing off errant pieces of hay and feathers.

"Well, I guess I'd better get outside and get ready. I'll walk you to the barn?" Jaune asked, offering Romani his hand, which she took gratefully.

"My, you're such a gentleman! Romani graciously accepts your offer sir," She responded as they began the admittedly short journey to the barn.

"Well...here we are," Romani said once they made to where Romani would be stationed.

Cue awkward silence.

"You have everything you need right?" Jaune couldn't help asking.

"Yeah, I'm not sure how many there are, but Romani has her whole stock here, and that's all a lot!" Romani said, stringing up her bow for emphasis.

"Well, I guess I'm going to get going, I'm not sure where they'll be coming from so it's better to get a headstart." Jaune said. He turned to leave before Romani grabbed his hand.

"Jaune wait. You always keep your promises right?"

"Yeah, an Arc never goes back on his words, why?"

"Then Romani wants another promise. After this, we're going to see the world, and go on lots of adventures. But we have to get past this first. Do you promise?"

Jaune smiled as a warm feeling grew in the pit of his stomach. "Yeah, it's a promise. But we have to take care of these guys first."

And with that no more words were exchanged and Jaune stepped outside to begin his vigil.

He saw them before he heard. It was hard to miss the glowing ball of light roughly the size of the sun in the middle of the night after all. He had believed Romani, but seeing it was another matter entirely.

He quickly drew his sword and shield and prepared. He didn't have to wait long as the first wave of THEM began to come at him from the light.

And now that Jaune could see them, he could tell that THEM was the best description that he could be given. He didn't know what he was looking at. The monsters was covered in long, bone like spines with long skeleton like forearms with sharp fingernails. It had a vaguely ghostlike appearance, as it lacked a lower body, instead floating through the air leaving behind a smoky trail that Jaune wouldn't be able to see if it wasn't for the light that they were coming from. It wore a skeletal mask with a single red glowing eye.

Jaune gulped, and then tightened his grip. "Time to put up or shut up Arc."

The first one came up to him faster than he expected, but not faster than Jaune himself could move. His shield came up to bash away the creature's arm, as Jaune's sword cleaved through its body, making it shriek and vanish. He turned his attention to another one that was floating along behind it, but an arrow pierced its mask, cracking it and causing that particular one to vanish.

So they had less durability than the Chu-Chus. But were much faster and dangerous, because they had hands. Jaune could work with that. But they were so many of them and they weren't coming one at a time like the Chu-Chus did.

Jaune found himself stowing away his shield. As long as he kept his eyes on his opponents, he shouldn't need it. These things died with one hit after all, and Jaune's range with his sword was greater than their range with their limbs.

Jaune let out a yell as he spun in a circle, cleaving three of them as they tried to swipe at him. They shrieked as they turned into smoke and Jaune quickly stopped his spin to jump forward and kick out at another one.

His foot missed, but an arrow from Romani took care of it so Jaune pressed forward. He had an idea and it would work better if he was in the center of the monsters, rather than in front of them. He quickly made it to the position that he wanted to, confusing the enemies surrounding him for a second. They weren't entirely sure if they should continue to press forward to the barn, or if they should try to get him out of the way first.

Jaune quickly turned his shield back into its scabbard mode and put in on his sword, he would need the extra weight. Jaune decided to try another spin attack, only using the added weight of his scabbard on the blade as well. So rather than one single spin attack like Jaune had done previously, he kept spinning.

Jaune became a virtual whirlwind of death, practically tearing apart any monsters that came near him. And any that happened to escape Jaune were quickly picked apart by Romani, Eventually however Jaune became too dizzy to continue spinning and was forced to stop, stumbling to his knees as he tried to regain his bearings.

But regain his bearings he did, and Jaune again threw himself into the fray, using his sword and shield together again. Jaune wasn't sure how long they were fighting but he found himself hoping they were almost done.

Sure they died quickly and easily, but it seemed like they were never ending! "Romani! How much longer!" Jaune yelled as he shoved his shield at the throat of a monster, crushing it and making it vanish.

"It shouldn't be too long now! We're almost there!" Her encouragement was interspersed with arrows, cutting down another stream of enemies.

They were coming down faster now. And attacking in greater numbers. The only advantage Jaune held was that even if they attacked him in droves, they was only so much of Jaune they could attack. And since they was a limited amount of space they could attack Jaune from, they were open to being blocked or counter attacked.

Without realizing it, Jaune found himself in front of the entrance, making what could be considered a last stand. When they all stopped. Even the ones in front of Jaune just stopped and were floating there listlessly.

"What's...is this normal?" Jaune cautiously asked, holding his shield as Romani approached.

She shook her head, frowning thoughtfully. "No, usually, they would have stopped by now. Romani doesn't know why-"

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a roof breaking. But it wasn't the roof of the barn. So where…

Romani and Jaune quickly ran out of the barn to see a sight that would stay with them for the rest of their lives.

The giant ball of light had moved, but not to the barn. No, instead it was floating over the roof of Romani and Cremia's house and a beam of light was being emitted down into their home. And slowly being lifted by the light was a familiar figure.

"CREMIA!" Romani screamed, but there wasn't anything that she or Jaune could do. There was nothing to fire an arrow at, and even if she did there was too great of a risk that she would hit her sister. And Jaune was hindered by the fact that there was no way that he could reach their house in time to do anything. Nor could he leave Romani unguarded if it turned out they wanted Romani as well.

So they both stood by helpless as they watched Cremia float up into the light, and then vanish as if she was never there. The ball of light floated up further into the sky, before disappearing entirely. And with the light vanishing, the monsters vanished as well, disappearing into the now familiar wisps of smoke.

Romani dropped to her knees the second they vanished. "They've never gone after people before...Romani is confused. Why w-would they do that? Cremia didn't, she didn't…"

Jaune grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "I don't know why they changed their methods today, but that's not important. If they were going to kill Cremia, they would have sent a monster there and did it. But they didn't. And you know what that means?"

"That means...that…we can rescue her!" Romani said, getting back to her feet and getting fired up.

"Yes! And besides, we need to find wherever they're coming from anyway. I promised you that we would end this once and for all after all. We're going to save your sister Romani."

The answering smile he was given was pretty watery, but it was still a smile.

* * *

Sleep was hard to come by. They succeeded in stopping THEM from abducting the cows, but they took Romani's sister instead. It felt like a pyrrhic victory at best. He knew that they still had a chance of rescuing Cremia, but where would they start? How would they find something like that?

"Jaune? Are you awake? Romani can't sleep." Jaune scooted over in the bed he was laying in and patted the spot next to him. After a small moment of hesitation, Romani crawled into the bed, facing him.

"Romani can't help feeling that she should have done more. They've never gone after people before so Romani...I didn't think they would ever do something like that. I'm sorry."

Jaune stared at her. She was feeling the same way that he was? Of course she would, this was her mission and it was her sister. She was probably feeling worse. He had to do whatever he could to fix that.

"That's nonsense Romani. There's nothing to apologize for. If they've never gone after people before, how would you know to watch for that? And we're going to find her, I'm not sure where to start...but we're going to find her."

"Romani, no I know of bar in Clock Town that caters to foreigners and travellers. Maybe someone there, or the owner herself might have heard something and we can go off of that?"

Romani said, ending it like a question. Jaune nodded, it sounded like as good a place as any to start.

"You don't have to use 'I' if you don't want to. I don't mind you talking in the third person. I think it's kind of cute."

There was a blush on both of their faces but she shook her head. "Rom-I know, but I should. Cremia was taken because I wasn't prepared. I wasn't strong enough. I need to be better. There's not a lot I can work on currently…but I can definitely use I instead of Romani. That's something I can work on today."

She chuckled at that. "I hope you'll still find me cute, no matter how I talk?"

"Of course! The cutest!" And of course he had to yell that and course his voice had to crack.

By this point both of their faces were glowing a bright red, but they couldn't help but burst out laughing. And by the time they were finished, things weren't okay, but they did feel a lot better about the situation they were in. And before they knew it, they had fallen into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

As soon as they woke up, they went to the bar that Romani had mentioned. It was a small out of the way hangout bar located down the southernmost alleyway of South Clock Town. It was a nice little place known as Telma's Bar.

But it seemed like something was going on. At least from the noise that they could hear before they even entered the building.

"That is a Zora child! This is beyond my expertise! There's nothing I can do for him!" And with that statement, the doors burst open and a man stalked out, throwing a glare at Jaune and Romani for good measure as he walked by. His glare darkened at the blank looks he recieved in turn.

"There was no need to be so rude," A woman huffed.

If Jaune had to guess, he would have put her around the thirty to forty age range. She had light brown skin, with braided dark red hair that she wore in a pony-tail. Her features were even and nondescript, with three red circles tattooed under her left eye. Like Romani, her ears were pointed. She wore a traditional barmaid's outfit, letting Jaune know that she was most likely the owner, as she was the only one in said uniform.

"That old coot reminded me, though...I've heard that there was a shaman in Kakariko Village, in the Eldin lands, who's tended to Gorons and Zoras. Maybe he could take a look at her?" She then eyed the remaining patrons, all soldiers still clad in their armor and helmets.

"We'll need an escort to help us make it to Kakariko safely though. Any volunteers?"

Her only response was a mass exodus as all the soldiers fled, leaving Romani and Jaune being the sole members of the bar. Telma pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing in digust.

"Cowards! Don't EVER show your faces here again!" She said before opening her eyes and spotting Jaune and Romani.

"Oh? Looks like we've got some young fighters left! And not only that, but it looks like they'll escort us, so get ready to go honey. Pronto!" She said to the person on the table, who groaned but made no other movement.

"We're not here for that! Romani needs information!" Romani said, cutting Telma off. They engaged in a stare off, before Telma started laughing.

"How's it come to this huh? Monsters walking the fields, making it so dangerous to travel...What in the WORLD are the soldiers doing? The Gorons are so much more reliable than they are it's not even funny. Beggars can't be choosers though...so what's your question girly?"

"Romani is-My name is Romani. Not 'Girly'" Romani stated, crossing her arms.

"Duly noted honey. And your question…?" She responded, drumming her fingers on the bar.

"Right, Romani wants to know if you've heard anything about monsters coming from the sky and abducting people?"

Telma stared at her, eyes looking from her to Jaune before humming thoughtfully, fingers still drumming on the bar.

"Not personally...but I might know of someone that has the information that you're looking for. An acquaintance of mine. But of course, he's also in Kakariko, and as we still need an escort to get there…"

"Don't worry, we'll make sure you get there safely," Jaune interjected, stepping into the conversation for the first time. "And in return…"

"I'll introduce you to my acquaintance. And I will pay you of course. How does that sound? Do we have a deal?" She asked, reaching her hand out to shake.

"It's a deal." Jaune said, grabbing her hand and shaking it firmly.


	4. Chapter 4

"It looks like the bridge is to the west has been destroyed," Telma sighed, shaking her head sadly. "Nothing for it, looks like we're going to have to cross the bridge to the east."

"Is that bad?" Jaune couldn't help but ask. He could tell from the way she said it, that it wasn't good, but he still wanted an estimate for how what exactly they would be dealing with.

Telma didn't respond with words, she merely pointed down at the bridge. Jaune followed her finger and saw...something stalking the bridge. It looked like a large monster, vaguely piglike in appearance with a long extended snout. That was all that Jaune could see of the face though, as it was covered with a metal mask. It wore nothing but a studded loin cloth, revealing olive green skin that was marred with scars. On its shoulders was a scarf, and attached to that scarf hung a small metal trinket of some sort that Jaune couldn't identify.

Protruding from its head were two horns that were larger than Jaune was tall, and he really didn't want to be gored by them. Which was fine because in one hand the thing held a huge, really huge battle axe. So in all, Jaune would probably be cut up or bashed before he got pierced by his horns.

"What is that?" Jaune asked.

"That's a moblin. To be specific, that's their king. He's guarding the bridge and preventing anyone from going to Clocktown, and vice versa. We're pretty sure that he destroyed the other bridge, making passing him the only way through."

"So before we can even cross…" Romani started.

"We're going to have to get rid of him." Jaune finished. Was he even up for that? Could he? Because Jaune didn't think so. He felt, and startled when a smaller hand slid into his and squeezed lightly.

"Don't overthink it. You won't be alone, I'll be right there with you. We can take him down." Romani told him, smiling slightly. Jaune calmed a little and smiled back. He was in fact overthinking it. He didn't have to do it alone and it was ridiculous to think otherwise.

"You said he's always patrolling the bridge? As in he never leaves it?" Jaune asked to get some more information about what he was dealing with.

"More or less. His forces are pretty concentrated around the field, but they should scatter once he's taken care of.

"Okay, then I want you to stay up with the wagon, while Romani and I go down to deal with him. After that, you should be able to cross it. But don't go down until we've cleared it."

It wasn't the best plan. But sometimes simple works and Jaune was hoping that this was one of those times. He gulped and went to retrieve his sword and shield. He really should start to keep that on him at all times.

* * *

The Moblin King was even bigger up close. That was the first thing Jaune noticed. The second was the he smelled worse than he looked. And that was pretty bad.

Jaune had originally wanted to have himself up in the front, and Romani hidden taking pot shots at him with her arrows, but that plan wouldn't work for two main reasons.

The first reason was because they were on a bridge. There was nowhere for her to hide to take shots at, and even if they was a spot, it might leave her open to being attacked from behind by one of the King's stray moblins. So that was a no go.

The second reason was that Romani herself didn't want to. She refused to hide, saying that she meant it when she said that would fight together so no matter how Jaune spun it, he couldn't convince her otherwise. Where Telma was was too far away for Romani to fire accurately, and she couldn't stand behind him and fire because she might hit Jaune as he was fighting.

So here they stood, shoulder to shoulder, walking up to face the King in combat.

"He smells really bad." Romani admitted.

"Yeah…" Jaune said.

"Like worse than anything I've ever smelled."

"Mmm…"

"Romani can't overstate how badly he smells."

"Romani needs to be silent." A raspy voice interrupted them, causing them both to freeze.

"Holy crap it speaks english…" Jaune whispered.

"We're dead." Romani whispered back, pulling out an arrow and notching it. Jaune followed suit by drawing his sword and shield as they got into fighting range. They was enough space on the bridge for two wagons to pull by side by side so they had enough room to maneuver. It would have to be enough.

Jaune would make it be enough.

Jaune rushed forward, hoping that the huge weapon that the King was carrying would mean that it would be slow and unwieldy. Jaune was proven right as the King lumbered over to him and slowly lifted his axe in a horizontal swing that Jaune easily ducked under.

He quickly snuck in a couple blows with his swords before he was forced to roll over and avoid another strike. He quickly decided that needed to turn him around so Romani could pepper his back with arrows, while he worked on the front.

He began to implement this plan by peppering his sides with attacks, having put away his shield to increase his speed. Everytime the King would turn to face him, Jaune would roll to the side, and attack his sides again. Jaune had the King go in one complete circle before actually having him face the back, in case he remembered that Romani was there.

He wised up when Jaune had him turned around as rather than swinging with his axe, he feinted, holding it with one hand, while the other lashed out in a swipe that caught Jaune squarely in the chest.

It hurt. It hurt really bad, but Jaune couldn't let it slow him down! Is what he wanted to tell himself, but his body didn't receive the message as he clutched his chest, sword and everything forgotten. He needed to pick himself up!

"Pathetic. One blow was all it took?" The King rumbled before preparing to chop Jaune in half with his axe, lifting it above his head for an overhead swing.

Three arrows pierced the center of his back in rapid succession, each one a little higher than the one before. He roared in pain, before whirling around to face Romani, which was just the push Jaune needed to force his body up.

He put both hands on the sword and carved out a decent chunk of the King's hide, making him roar and try to lash out at Jaune with his fist again. Jaune was prepared for it this time, having drawn his shield and used it to redirect his fist rather than absorbing the blow. And with his arm extended, Jaune took the opportunity to try to chop the King's arm off, swinging upwards with his blade.

But it was too thick. It got stuck not even a quarter of the way through, and Jaune was forced to pull his blade out and retreat a couple of steps before he could get struck again. He could hear the steady thunks of arrows sinking into the King's body from Romani as he tore up the King's front.

It was working! Until it wasn't. The King dropped his weapon entirely, grabbing Jaune's shield, and lifting it, and by consequence Jaune, straight into the air.

"You think you're strong?" He roared, punching Jaune again with his other hand, Jaune having no choice but to take the blows.

"You're weak!"

"A Child!"

"A human!"

Each roar was punctuated by a punch to the stomach, and as Jaune was taking the blows, which hurt tremendously, each scream attacked his core as well. He never thought he was strong. But he had been starting to. He needed to get stronger. He would get stronger.

If he survived this that is.

"Fire one more arrow at me, and I throw him off the side!" He suddenly yelled, turning to face Romani, who had in fact had one arrow notched and ready to go.

"Drop your weapon, and come this way. Slowly."

Romani growled, but had no choice but to follow his instructions. She slowly put down her arrows and inched her way forward. It looked like Jaune was slowly losing consciousness, so she wasn't certain how they would be able to get out of this.

"Romani's sorry Cremia...I don't think we're going to save you after all."

But then she heard wagon wheels. She didn't want to give away what she hoped was happening before it occurred. Timing would be crucial here.

Is what she thought, but she vastly underestimated the speed of a wagon going full speed. She quickly threw herself to the side as the wagon roared past and saw it go on a crash course for Jaune and the King.

It rammed into the King with the force of well...a wagon and he was thrown off the bridge. Jaune would have followed, but he had the good sense to let go of his shield before the wagon actually hit the King, as he had been able to see it coming, due to his height advantage at the time and trying his best not to pass out. So he crumbled to the ground and King Moblin was thrown off of the bridge, taking Jaune's shield with him.

With everything taken care, battlewise anyway, not that Jaune would be able to do anything in his condition, Jaune felt it safe to pass out, leaving the rest to Romani.

He was positive that she could handle it. She was stronger than him after all.

* * *

Jaune woke up feeling...just fine? Wait that wasn't right. What happened?

"Oh, you're awake. I took the liberty of healing your wounds. I hope you don't mind."

Jaune sat up and turned to look at the man that was addressing him. He was pretty, which made Jaune a little uncomfortable to say, but it was true. He had long black hair that came to what Jaune guessed was the small of his back, with a golden robe that had some strange symbols stitched on it. His sleeves were white and baggy, hiding his hands, and had long tassels on the end of it as well.

All in all, he looked like a wizard.

"I don't mind. Thank you for helping me. My name's Jaune. Jaune Arc."

"I am Renado. I am...I guess you could call me the caretaker of Kakariko Village."

"Kakariko? So we made it?" Jaune asked, sliding out of bed and standing up now, wanting to find Romani and verify that she was fine.

"You did. I must thank you for all of your hard work in getting the young Zora child here. It was touch and go for a moment, but I do believe that he will pull through. I have notified the Zoras, and they will be along momentarily to pick up the boy. I'm sure that they will reward you for your efforts. As will I. Is there anything that I can do for you?"

Jaune opened his mouth to say something, before the door opened, and Romani burst in, making a beeline for Jaune and doing her best to tackle him.

"Jaune! You're alright!" She yelled in excitement as her arms snaked around him, pulling him in for a hug, one that he eagerly returned.

"I could say the same for you! Good job guarding everyone here! Sorry I passed out like that." Jaune couldn't help but say. He felt really bad about that and wished that he could have done more.

She hit him on the back, knocking him out of his thoughts. "Oh shut up. Are you kidding Romani? You took how many blows from that guy? I doubt that I could take even one of those, let alone however many you took! We did it together, just like we said we would."

"But, it wasn't enough. I really hate to say it, but it wasn't. What happens next time?"

"What do you mean? Romani asked, letting go of him and taking a step back to look him in the eyes.

"We were doing okay for a moment, but it got bad really quick. And we got lucky true. But we can't count on luck Romani, we just can't. And I don't even have my shield anymore so I need to buy a shield...and...we just need to get stronger. So we can save your sister. And protect each other…"

He trailed off, as he noticed Romani nodding. "That makes sense. Romani wouldn't have brought it up so soon...but you're right. We weren't prepared, and we got lucky. But we can't count on that. Not with everything that we have to do. But, what else can we do?".

Jaune shrugged. He didn't have any ideas. He just knew that what they were doing currently wasn't working.

"Hem hem," Renado coughed, startling them. Both of them had forgotten that he was still in the room.

"If I may make a suggestion. I have an idea that should satisfy both of you. So long as you do not mind being apart for some time. You should both come out of it much stronger and ready for... whatever it is you have to do."

Romani and Jaune looked at each other for a moment before turning to the man.

"We're listening."

* * *

The Sheikan Circle was filled with thousands of men. Traditionally, one in ten would pass the testing, allowing them to be trained as Sheikah. The failures, especially if they were pure blooded or not, would faze out as regular soldiers, or barring that, Yiga.

The soldiers were exactly what they sounded like. Nothing more than guards, foot soldiers, and fodder, usually the first to die in battle.

"Test takers!" yelled a hard-faced man in that Jaune would put in his mid forties. "Line up. We will give you a number, and some wrapping to wrap up your practice swords. Wrap it well. If the linen falls loose or you draw blood because of an uncovered edge, you lose your match."

Jaune and the other men around him formed up as the Sheikah explained the rest.

"The rules are simple. The Judges who attend your fight will count each hit you make as a point, and they'll your opponent a point for each hit you take. You win if your opponent begs for the goddess's mercy or if you've more points when the match ends. Matches last three minutes. The judges count the points and the time. The match does not end if you yell no, or anything else. You say, 'Goddess mercy' and the hurting stops okay?"

Jaune and the other murmured their acceptance.

"Mind, there are no head strikes with weapons. You hit someone in the head, you lose. You step outside the ring, you lose. You lose on day one, you're out. You lose on day two, you're out. You make it to day three, you're in, but it's still a fight. The masters, which will be master to you, will be watching on day three. They're looking to claim talent for their squads. Trust me, you want to make it into a good squad."

More nodding.

"Last thing...you happen to be Link reborn and win ten matches, then you're in, no matter what day you do it." The man smiled at that, all teeth. "So make ten wins today," He said, walking away and calling over his shoulder. "Get your numbers, get to fighting."

The sheikah knew their business, and the long line of test takers were handled with speed as the busy circle hummed with hushed voices and nervous energy. It was the sound of thousands of men preparing, focusing, and wrapping dull practice swords in thick, protective linen.

Jaune saw that the men with layers of clothing and wondered how they were handling the heat in all of those layers. They had to be burning up in the hot sun. Jaune doubted that they would last even two minutes in the sun. They'd have to win fast or risk getting sick.

"Two thousand twelve! Two thousand twelve!" Someone called out near the set of five fighting circles to which Jaune had been assigned.

"Ready," Jaune shouted in response.

He was in the day's first round of fights. Other judges called out other numbers and other men stepped forward. Jaune took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and emptied his mind like he had heard his father tell his siblings during their training. He sought the calm, the peace that would allow him to focus. It didn't come.

"C'mon then," The judge said, "I've got a long day ahead of me."

Jaune stepped forward, and the judge, who was missing his right leg below the knee, handed him a battered helm and bronze shield. The shield's edges were rounded off, unlike the sharp edges of the shield that Jaune had lost.

Jaune hefted the shield and slipped it on his left arm through the straps. It was heavier than the one that he was used to. He raised and lowered his left arm to get a feel for it, and plopped the helm on his head.

"Five thousand seven!" The man said, calling for Jaune's opponent. "Where are you?"

"Here, here. I'm here."

Jaune's opponent was Jaune's height, and from the quality of cloth he wore and he proud gait, he had to be someone important. He was slim, with squinty red eyes, and his skin was covered in acne scars. It wasn't a good look.

The judge gave the teen his gear and pointed to the fighting circle. Jaune's opponent ran onto it, choosing his spot first. Jaune moved opposite to him and saw why the teen had moved so fast. Jaune was facing the sun, so the light was in his eyes.

"I'm Jaune." He said, introducing himself to his opponent.

The acne scarred sheikan ignored him, warming up by firing his sword back and forth in a series of thrusts.

"Fight!" The judge growled, and the sheikan ran forward.

It took him no time to cross the distance, and he swung for Jaune's head. Jaune leapt back and brought his sword up to block the illegal blow. He was quick to realize his error, but it was still too late. His squinty eyed opponent dropped the ruse, changed levels, and bashed Jaune under his arm. Jaune lurched backward, almost dropping his sword from the pain.

"Point!"

Jaune was on the defensive and had to dance backward to avoid getting clobbered. The sheikan was slender but fast. His follow up attacks pushed Jaune all the way to the edge of the ring, close to forcing him out. With no more than a step to spare, Jaune skipped away from the edge and toward the center, taking a hit to the thigh and body as he did.

"Point! Point!"

Jaune was panting, sucking air in heavy gulps. The match was in the earliest stages, but he'd spent all of it running. Getting desperate, he launched an attack of his own. He thrust at his opponent, and the sheikah turned, avoiding the strike. Jaune darted forward, jerking his blade into a side swiping swing that would have crashed into the man's back, but he whirled, blocking the strike, and with his closest arm he elbowed Jaune in the temple.

Jaune reeled, disengaged, and flashed a look at the judge. He shrugged. It seemed head strikes made without the use of weapons were allowed, though no points were awarded.

The sheikan brought himself back to the center, squinting worse than before. "Looks like your journey ends here, Outsider."

Jaune swung and the Sheikah stepped just out of reach.

"You're not bad," He said. "You're just not good."

"Half match!"

It had been a minute and a half and Jaune was three points down. He pushed forward, swinging at his opponent's shoulder, leg, and arm. The sheikan blocked each attack while moving in circles.

"Why fight?" He asked Jaune. "You're an outsider. What are you even doing here?"

Jaune was tired, hungry and hot. His underarm throbbed where he'd been hit. He was losing, and it wasn't something that he'd been prepared for. Not so soon anyway.

He'd wanted this his whole life, and though he had no love for fighting, he'd always believed himself strong enough to at least make a good showing. It seemed however, that he wasn't good enough to even beat his first opponent.

The Sheikah threw a mock thrust his way and Jaune stumbled back. The teen laughed and Jaune grew angry. He refused to let this person stop him.

Yelling in anger and frustration, he went after the sheikah, calling on the few fighting forms that Link had shown him, but the Sheikan pranced about, dodging this, blocking that, and counterattacking whenever Jaune overextended.

"Point! Point!"

So now Jaune was five to zero.

"Don't worry about it, Jaaaaune," the Sheikah said, stretching out his name like it was bad word. "Your mother will still love you. Just tell her the truth. You lost to a better breed of man."

He was trying to make Jaune angry. He wanted him making mistakes, and it was working. Jaune was furious, and even filled with fury, he couldn't deny it. The sheikan in front of him was the better swordsman.

* * *

"Have I mentioned how incredible you are? And how thankful I am?"

"Yes, you have, and again, Romani appreciates it!" Romani responded, waving off the man's thanks for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Of course! And to show you and your husband my thanks, I will definitely, undoubtedly ensure that you are prepared for the trials that you will be facing!"

"Jaune's not my husband…" Romani said, but Sidon wasn't listening.

"Strength! Speed! Archery! We'll work on all of that and more! I will have you as great as me in no time! Or my name isn't Prince Sidon! If I can't do that, then I swear to you that I will abdicate my throne to my little brother that you and your husband saved! Oh! Have I told you how thankful we are for what you've done?"

Romani rubbed her temple with both hands, feeling a headache coming on. It was going to be a long ten months. She would do her best to make them count. She hoped Jaune was having a better time.


	5. Chapter 5

Jaune wasn't going to beat him and tried telling himself that it didn't matter. That he didn't need the Sheikans for training and could go practice on moblins or chu chus like before. He told himself that it would work out just fine, and he knew it wouldn't.

Jaune couldn't give peace to Link's soul by being weak. No, he had to make it into the Sheikah and get stronger. He had to win this match. He wanted strength, needed strength, and there was no price that he wouldn't pay to get it. So he channelled his eldest sister at her teasing best. This person thought he knew taunts, but no one could make you lose your head like his sister could.

"I'll tell my family," Jaune spoke finally. "I'll tell them that I lost to half blooded ghost, whose father must have ran when he saw how ugly his son was."

"Bastard!" The man yelled, coming fast for Jaune.

Jaune tried to fend him off, but lost another point. He was down too many and worried that he didn't have enough time. He needed to work faster.

"Did I strike a nerve? What, did your mother run too? She must've, otherwise you'd know how to hide the scars on your face!" Jaune said, disgusted with himself, his behavior, and his plan. "How do you feel, looking in the mirror everyday and seeing that mess?"

"You debased outsider scum!" The man said, battering at Jaune's sword and shield.

Jaune did his best to defend himself, losing another point, and lowered his shield and sword to cover the bottom half of his chest and waist. The sheikah was in a fervor, and though Jaune was taking a beating, he wanted to hurt him more.

"Yes! Yes! You're doing great! I'm sure you're making your goddess proud! Just a little more!"

The man screamed and swung wildly. It was the swing Jaune was waiting for. He stepped closer, avoiding the heaviest part of it, and took the blow on the side of the head.

The world exploded in a dazzle of light. Then Jaune was on the ground. His helm had come off and it rolled in lazy circles beside him. Dazed and expecting another attack, he raised his sword, but the attack didn't come.

"No! No!" The sheikah said, pleading. "I didn't mean-"

"The match is over," The judge told him flatly. "We have a winner, by disqualification."

"You can't! He's not deserving! You can't-"

"What you can't do is strike an opponent in the head. The winner is two thousand twelve."

Jaune had won. He was still in the contest and needed to prepare for his next match. He tried to stand. The world turned green and his eyes crossed. He squeezed them shut and forced his way up. He could do this. He would do this.

He stepped out of the fighting circle, his head feeling altogether too large, as the sights and sounds of combat swirled around him. He heard bronze clanging on bronze, shouts, screams, and points being called as the teens around him battled for the change to become elite fighters.

The sheikah was still arguing with the judge. He had to be carried out of the circle by two other men. Jaune felt no satisfaction at his win. The man was right. Jaune hadn't deserved that win.

In the nearest circle, a massive man, one of the biggest that Jaune had ever seen, was crushing his opponent, who quickly called for the goddess's mercy. On Jaune's other side, the match was more even. Two warriors, hacked at each other like stone cutters. The fighting was all strength and bluster, no technique. Jaune couldn't tell who would win, but at least the world was no longer green.

"Two thousand twelve!" A new judge called out. The man was standing two circles away and calling Jaune's number. "Two thousand twelve and three thousand eight!"

It was time to fight.

Jaune walked over, swinging his sword and twisting his neck back and forth to loosen it. His opponent arrived at the circle as he did, and Jaune tried to look like he wasn't about to throw up. The teen across from Jaune had a bulbous nose, and wore several heavy shirts and one pair of pants, and was barefoot. He nodded to Jaune and he returned the gesture. They stepped into the ring and raised their swords.

"Goddess smile upon you." The sheikan said.

"Same to you," Jaune responded, for lack of words to say.

"Fight!"

Jaune's opponent lurched into a looping attack. Jaune blocked. His sword was inside the man's blade and Jaune lifted up and away, moving the weapon out of position, leaving him unable to defend as Jaune brought his sword down on the man's shoulder. The man cried out and darted back, but not before Jaune swung again, smashing his blade into the Sheikah's upper arm.

He yelped and dropped his sword, and Jaune stabbed him in the gut. He doubled over, fell to the ground, and curled into a ball. Jaune stepped back, waiting for the judge to call the match.

"He has a twelve count," The judge warned, encouraging Jaune to batter the downed man.

Jaune didn't move and the Sheikan wheezed his way to his knees before crawling for his sword.

"He gets to his feet and the match continues to to three minutes," The judge said.

Jaune stared at the man, "Then it does."

The sheikan got to his sword, put a hand round its hilt and looked up at Jaune. He must have seen something. He stayed in the dirt.

"The winner is two thousand twelve!"

The sheikah took his hand from the sword's hilt, watching Jaune, shame written across his face. Soldier or Yiga were his only options now, Jaune realized, but he felt too empty to offer sympathy, so he left the circle, looking for water.

It was a decent amount of time before Jaune was called again. His opponent was a pureblooded Sheikah. The bastard cried for mercy after taking the first two hits.

Jaune's fourth match was a war that lasted the entire three minutes. Jaune and his opponent were drenched in sweat by the time it was over, and Jaune had lost count of the points long ago. He almost wept when his arm was lifted in victory.

Fighting back tears and exhaustion, he tottered out of the fighting circle and collapsed. He knew that if he was called again for another match, he would lose. He lay and sat, in turns, waiting for and dreading to hear his number, and it wasn't until the sun was setting that Jaune heard someone beat the gon that announced the end of the first day of testing.

He'd survived. He'd fought four matches and won them, though the first fight had been the most difficult. By all rights, the acne scarred sheikah should be in his place.

Jaune tried to take off his shirt but couldn't raise his arms. He left the sweat drenched shirt on and shuffled away. He had to find something to eat, and somewhere to sleep. The next day would be harder. Everyone would be a survivor of day one.

* * *

Day two was hotter. Jaune hadn't slept much or eaten at all. His muscles ached, his head pounded from the blow he'd taken on the first day, and he was walking with a limp from a cramp that he couldn't get rid of. The Sheikan Circle was just as crowded as it had been the day before. The failed competitors replaced with spectators that had come to see the 'real' fighters. Masters from both the Northern and Southern areas had come too, scouting for talent. Jaune became determined to impress them.

"Two thousand twelve!"

Jaune stepped into his fighting circle and did not like what he saw. He was facing a stocky, bare-chested man with no shield. The man had welts over his chest, back, and arms from the day before, but said nothing. Jaune tossed his shield outside the circle in an attempt to keep it fair. He fought better without it anyway.

"Fight!" The judge ordered, and they did.

The topless man held back, so Jaune attacked, coming fast, looking to finish the fight early. The topless man was faster. He shrugged off Jaune's first and second strikes with the dge of his blade and sent a jab for Jaune's stomach.

Jaune parried and their swords locked. The stocky man stepped in, grabbed the wrist of Jaune's sword arm, and bent it. Jaune mirrored the move and they grappled, tripping and falling in the dirt. There was a scramble, a dropped sword, a head butt, a curse, a retrieved sword, a heavy kick and then both were back up, circling.

Jaune's left eye was swelling shut. The man's head had felt like a rock when he'd slammed it into Jaune's face. At least the stocky fighter wouldn't be as fast. Jaune had kicked him in the thigh as hard as he could and the other fighter was favoring the leg.

Jaune lifted his sword, keeping it parallel to the ground and aimed at his opponent's chest. The brawler slapped at it with his own blade, trying to keep Jaune focused on the meaningless contact as he planned his next attack. Jaune didn't give him the chance.

He came forward, sword point leading and punching through the air like a needle through cloth. His opponent skipped backward and Jaune harried him, taking him to the circle's boundary. With no more room for retreat, the swordplay began in earnest.

The brawler yelled something unintelligible and attacked. Jaune snarled and went for him. Blades connected; they repositioned, swung again: block, riposte, each looking for any advantage, any chance for a clean strike.

The brawler gave Jaune a hard hit to the arm, Jaune blasted him in the waist, and the man moved back, hunching over his injured core. Jaune followed, smashing at him, the pressure forcing the brawler to his knees.

Jaune had the advantage, but the match had taken a toll. He was wearied and could barely feel his arms and legs. He was wearied and could barely feel his arms or legs. He needed to end this, and, roaring, he hammered at the kneeling man like an errant nail. Bang bang bang!

The sword fell from the brawler's hand, but Jaune didn't stop. He hit him on his arms and shoulders and clubbed him in the chest. The brawler fell over and Jaune hit and hit him until he heard the Judge's shouting over the blood booming in his ears.

"Victory! Victory! Match over! The match is over!" The officiant screamed.

Jaune backed away. The brawler was mewling on the ground, pitifully.

Five more wins and he was guaranteed a place among the sheikah. He wanted to laugh and didn't have the energy. He had just gotten the joke the man that had explained the rules to them the day before. Jaune couldn't win ten of these fights. Jaune didn't think that he could win one more.

He made his way to the nearest bucket, cupped his hands and drank, the cut on his face dripping blood into the water.

"Two thousand twelve!" shouted a voice several circles away. "Two thousand twelve!"

Jaune looked towards the shouting and saw the Judge and the fighting circle. He could leave. He was so tired. He could leave.

"Two thousand twelve!"

Jaune left the blood-tainted bucket and walked over. He was joined by the huge sheikan he'd seen bludgeon a man on the first day.

"Darunia," The massive man said, pointing a thick finger at himself.

Jaune looked up and into the muscular man's bland, heavy browed face. "Jaune," He introduced himself.

The giant shook his head. "Nine," He said, pointing at Jaune's chest.

"Nine?"

"Ninth fight," he said, stepping into the same circle as Jaune.

* * *

"What on earth happened here!" Sidon yelled when he and Romani arrived at the Zora's domain. What was once a clearly beautiful was...well admittedly, it was still fairly beautiful.

But it was also frozen. As in frozen over completely. Romani could see under the water underneath, and walk on it. Which she found mildly disturbing. What really bothered her was seeing the frozen Zoras in various positions in the water as well.

And if she found it disturbing, then she couldn't imagine how Sidon was taking it.

"Father! Mother! Anna! You! I don't know your name admittedly, but all the same I'm sorry that this has happened to you! We'll fix this for sure!"

Oh wait, yes Romani could, because Sidon wouldn't stop talking about it.

"Sidon?"

"I can't imagine what could have done this, I wasn't gone for that long...was I?"

"Sidon!"

"Yes, Romani!" Sidon said, snapping to attention immediately.

"I know you're worried about what happened, but that's not important right now. Is there anything that you know of that can melt all of this ice?"

"That can melt this?" Sidon said, suddenly turning serious, which caught Romani off guard. She didn't know that Sidon was capable of that.

"I've traveled across Hyrule many times, and the only thing that I think has a chance of melting all of this would be a molten shard."

"A molten shard?" Romani echoed.

"Yes, a molten shard is a magma rock that falls from Death Mountain every time it erupts, which has been happening more and more often lately. If we could somehow transport one of those rocks here, then maybe we could melt it…" Sidon trailed off, eying the frozen Zoras again.

"Great! Then let's go get one!" She said, getting ready to walk and go as soon as Sidon gave her a direction to travel, but he put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"We can't. Or, to be more specific, I can't."

"What?! Why not! We have to help everyone!"

"I know, but let me ask you this first Romani. Do you know WHY my brother Ralis got sick in the first place?"

"Why he...no? What does that have to do with anything?" She asked, staring up at Sidon.

"He spent too much time on land without getting into any water. While we can breath just fine on land, we do in fact need to be in water at some point in order to not dry out, which is dangerous for us. I can travel to many places...but Death Mountain is not one of them."

"So...what can we do?"

Sidon crossed his arms and looked skyward for a moment, thinking hard. "What should I do Mipha…?" He whispered, before closing his eyes.

"Mipha?" Romani repeated silently, as she didn't want to disturb him.

"We're going to have to accelerate your training Romani. If I'm going to have you travel to Death Mountain and bring back a molten shard. I want to be sure that you can take care of yourself." He said, the intensity of his stare unsettling her.

"Accelerate?"

"Yeah, it's not ideal, but it will get the job done. And after it's over, we can fill in the holes of whatever's missing," He said, before flashing a grin at her. It was all teeth. "Tell me; Do you know what Lynel is?"


	6. Chapter 6

Darunia held a great sword that was almost as tall as Jaune. On his other arm was a massive circular shield. He wore a full sheikan uniform and was holding a bronze helm, that he stuffed on his sweat slicked head. It covered him down to his neck and had a single piece of thick bronze down its center, protecting his nose.

"Shield?" The judge asked, as if he doubted anything would make the slightest difference to this match's outcome.

"Yes." Jaune responded, going to get his. He didn't like fighting with one, not after the King, but he couldn't imagine surviving a blow from Darunia's sword, no matter how much linen was wrapped around it. A crowd was forming and Jaune knew they weren't here to watch him.

"Fight!" The judge shouted, and Darunia charged.

Jaune tried to get out of the way, but Darunia's great sword was too long to dodge, so he blocked it with his shield. The contact spun him around, putting him on his ass, and the pain was instant. It vibrated up Jaune's arm, into his shoulder, and down his back.

He jumped to his feet, scurrying away from Darunia, who came at him swinging. Jaune blocked two thundering blows and could no longer lift his shield arm. He shrugged off the paltry protection, letting the shield slip onto hot sand. Behind him the onlookers tittered, cheering and jeering in turns.

"He's done,"

"Burn him!"

Darunia came on.

Trying to shake some feeling back into his arm, Jaune danced out of the way of the oversized man's next swing but had to use his sword to block the follow up. The collision of swords came close to tearing his weapon from his hand.

"Damn!" Chortled a faceless man in the crowd, food flying from his mouth.

Jaune had to attack. He sucked air into his lungs, screamed and ran for Darunia. The crowd cheered and Darunia stayed still. He stood there, tall as a mountain, and swung that great sword.

Jaune ducked beneath the linen covered blade and thrust for the giant's gut. Darunia stepped off the line of the line of the thrust and swiped at Jaune with his shield. The shield belted Jaune aside, lifting him off the ground and flinging him through the air. He hit the sand hard and the air was forced from his lungs. Head spinning, chest burning, he rolled to his knees. Darunia was coming for him.

Jaune couldn't win. Not against this. He thought to call for mercy and end this before he was killed. Instead, he stood. The crowd went mad. They would get to see blood.

Darunia slowed, savoring the moment. He pointed at Jaune. "Nine."

Jaune spat, tasting blood. "Fuck your nine."

Darunia swung his great sword hard enough to disembowel, linen wrap or no. Jaune dove to the dirt, letting the swing spin the giant man half around, and then Jaune came back up, slamming his sword in the weak space below Darunia's ribs. His blade hit the brute square, punched into his clothes, and bit flesh.

With the linen around his sword intact, the superficial cut was legal, and Jaune had blooded the beast. The crowd howled, their rapture rising to a frenzy when Darunia looked down to see where he'd been hit.

"Point!"

Darunia's eyes thinned to slits and his fingers danced over the hilt of that horrible sword. He banged the blade on the edge of his shield, pushing the circle of bronze farther onto his arm, and he came for Jaune.

Jaune gripped his sword with both hands. It wasn't meant to be swung that way, but Darunia was angry and strong enough to kill him if Jaune blocked wrong with his one hand. Jaunee thought about playing keep-away. He was a point up, and if he could stay out of reach for the rest of the match…

Darunia must have understood Jaune's thinking. He was angry but smart enough to move forward with care. He cut off all angles of escape, giving Jaune no room to dance. Then he began to tear Jaune apart.

The first strike that Jaune blocked rattled his teeth. The next almost knocked him out of the circle. The third he didn't time well enough, and Darunia's blade slapped him in the shoulder, cutting him within the rules and flinging him into the dirt. A point was called for Darunia and the match was tied.

Jaune scrambled to his feed, but Darunia moved with speed, his sword already moving. With no other choice but being chopped in two, Jaune jumped towards Darunia and inside the deadliest part of the sword's arc. When he was hit, he wasn't sure he hadn't been torn apart anyway.

The blow sent him flying and he crashed into the packed clay of the fighting circle, tumbling head over heels until his helmet popped off his head like a startled bug. Jaune groaned and found he couldn't draw a full breath.

"Point!"

Jaune was losing and the crowd chanted something guttural, ugly.

"Darunia! Darunia! Darunia!"

On will alone, Jaune got to his feet. The world was tilting, his chest was a maze of agony, and he still hadn't caught his breath, but he lifted his sword and pointed it at the man that the crowd cheered for.

"Fuck your nine," Jaune said, sword arm quivering.

Darunia sneered and came on. Jaune let him come and, at the last moment, he darted to the right, away from Darunia's sword. Gripping his blade, Jaune spun in a circle, hoping the momentum powered strike would smash into Darunia's side, break something and finish the man.

Only his sacrifice swing didn't hit flesh. It clanged against Darunia's blocking blade, jarring Jaune to his core and making him stumble. Darunia jerked his weapon away, lifting his sword high but letting his shield drop. He meant to finish Jaune with an overhead blow.

Jaune stabbed out and over Darunia's lowered shield but was too close for power. He sword nudged Darunia in the stomach, soft as could be.

"Point…" The judge said, almost like it was a question.

Darunia shot the judge a look, growled, grabbed Jaune's sword and tore it from his hands. He tossed the weapon across the circle, snatched a fistful of Jaune's shirt, and yanked him close, bringing them face to face.

Jaune punched him. Darunia didn't seem to notice. Jaune hit him again. Darunia smashed his forehead into Jaune's face and let him drop to the ground, blood gushing from Jaune's cut.

Darunia kicked him in the side and Jaune cried out. For some reason, he could no longer hear the crowd, screaming and demanding violence. And one person stood out. But it wasn't someone he recognized.

"He has twelve counts to rise," The judge shouted over the crowd, "Or...you can finish him."

"He is finished." The big man said.

Jaune was weaponless and battered. He had no strength left and no chance to beat the man who stood over him. He was going to lose and wanted to lie there in the mix of blood, sand, and shame. He wanted to lie there and die.

Darunia leaned over him. "Nine," he snarled, spitting in Jaune's face, before turning away and lifting his arms in victory.

The thick gob of saliva clung to Jaune's cheek and neck. He left it there when he stood. He left it there when he ran at Darunia and tackled him.

The big man squawked as they went down. They rolled once. Jaune got on top and he rained down blows. Darunia still had his sword and shield, but from his back and in close combat, they weren't any help.

"Bastard!" Jaune swore in Darunia's face. "Bastard! Bastard!"

Darunia needed a free hand to deal with Jaune but couldn't shake his shield free. He dropped his sword and used that hand to grab Jaune by the head. He squeezed and tossed Jaune aside like he was a child.

Jaune landed beside the enormous sword, picked it up, and squared off with Darunia, who had only his shield. The crowd was silent.

Darunia stared at Jaune like he was the only thing in existence. "I'm going to kill you."

Jaune was having a hard enough holding the huge sword and couldn't think of a response. So he attacked. Darunia opened his shield, offering up a perfect target, and Jaune stabbed him full in the chest.

Darunia took the blow, took hold of Jaune's right wrist, the one holding the sword, and pulled Jaune to him. If the blades had been uncovered, if they had been razor sharp, Darunia would have died. It did not kill Darunia. It dug into his clothes, cutting into his flesh a finger span, and he bashed it away, still holding Jaune's wrist.

"Point! That was a point!"

Jaune struggled and Darunia lifted his bronze shield into the air, aiming it's edge. Jaune's eyes went wide, fear coursing through him. He fought Darunia's grip but might as well have pulled on a mountain. Darunia brought his shield down and Jaune was screaming before it smashed into his wrist. His screams grew louder when the bones there shattered.

Darunia released him and Jaune went down, clutching his mangled arm. Darunia lifted the shield again, aiming for Jaune's chest.

"Nine!" Darunia bellowed, but Jaune didn't hear him over the pain.

"Three minutes! Three minutes! The match is over!" called the judge, hobbling over as fast as he could on one leg and crutches.

Darunia stared at the judge in disbelief, and then back to Jaune. His lips were curled, teeth bared, and the muscles on his arms were flexed, tensed with the need to cave in Jaune's chest.

"Kill him and you forfeit," The judge warned.

Darunia screamed in frustration, tossed the shield aside, and sent a boot flying for Jaune's head, knocking him senseless.

* * *

Lynels had a variety of attacks, ranged and melee, so Romani had to gauge the best way to kill each one that she came across individually. Fortunately for her, they didn't seem to travel in packs, so she could pick them off one by one.

A lynel looked if someone took a horse, gave it the torso and arms of a man where the horse's head would normally, and on top of that, instead of a man's head, they stuck a lion. And just for giggles, they placed two giant horns that protruded from the things head, as if it didn't have enough methods of killing someone if it so chose. And it always chose that.

They seemed to favor shooting fireballs, body slamming, and trampling. She'd even seen a few of them teleport, though luckily she hadn't had to deal with that yet. And that wasn't even considering the ones that carried weapons that were larger than she was! The archery ones were pretty cool. She didn't think she was learning anything here, but maybe she was?

A roar startled her out of her thoughts and she peeked out of her hiding spot to see a Lynel staring her down. They always stared her down for a second, giving her the chance to run away if she so chose. And she usually did, as she didn't believe that she could handle a lynel, no matter what Sidon said.

She had nowhere to run though. So sending a quick prayer for luck, she pulled out her bow and notched an arrow, holding it loosely in her hand, ready to fire at a moment's notice. She was grateful for this as the Lynel charged her, trying to reach her before she could fire off an arrow.

She released her arrow quickly, aiming at its face to kill it in one go, already reaching for another arrow, but the beast brought up its shield and blocked the shot. The lynel, a mass of dirty red hair and mud caked fur, charged forward, swinging it's blade low, aiming for Romani's thigh.

She leapt back, fear lending her speed, and the blade hissed past her kneecap, a hairsbreadth from taking her leg off at the calf. Blood pumping and desperate to be done with this situation, she attacked. She fired another arrow, aiming for the beasts chest, and kept an eye on the target, ready to react when it dodged or blocked.

Her arrow hitting then, was a surprise. Romani's arrow plunged from tip to shaft, into the lynel's chest. The beast had made no move to avoid or block the arrow at all.

She didn't understand. It had blocked the first shot, and made no move to block the second? Maybe it's eyesight wasn't as good the closer it was?

She should attack again. She didn't. It swung his blade at her again, and it would have taken out her throat if she hadn't dived down at the last minute. She notched one arrow, and shot it into the Lynel's arm, and then fired another into it's gut.

Or where she assumed it's guts were. This wasn't working. She needed something that would do more damage. She fingered another arrow that she had found and pocketed while studying the lynels. She had noticed the lynels used a particular kind of arrow, and they were pretty careless about leaving them about. She notched one and hoped for the best.

A burst of fire exploded near her face, singing her eyebrows. She threw herself back away from the searing heat and as soon as she gained some semblance of sense, she looked up her vision swimming. She needed to get away.

In front of her, and behind the lynel was a storage barn. If she could get to that, maybe she would have some time to get her bearings. On weak knees, Romani stepped forward and fired her Lynel arrowed again at the chest. Romani assumed she was far enough for the creature to see what she was doing, as it lifted its shield to block it.

Which was a mistake.

As soon as the Lynel's shield touched the arrow, lighting sparked between them, growing from the shield, and using that shield as a conduit, connecting to the Lynel and arcing throughout its entire body.

She didn't know how long this would last and couldn't run the risk of it shrugging it off. So while it was roaring, she ran up to it as fast as she could and hammered her bow into the side of it's head as hard as she could, bringing it to its knees.

She followed up this strike by dropping her bow entirely and grabbing the dagger that it had strapped onto its chest, pressing it to its neck.

"Are you able to speak? Will you leave me alone?!" She screamed in its face.

It growled at her, and spat in her face, and closed its eyes as Romani reflexively slit the Lynel's throat when it growled and spat at her. It began to spasm, its skin bubbling and boiling as Romani backed away. And then, like a candle blown out, it was dead. By her hand.

She stared blankly at the Lynel, before leaving it lying there and resuming her march to the barn she had seen earlier. She broke the door's lock with her new dagger and went in.

It was large, but it was cramped, crammed with shelves, that were all empty. As she walked through, she began to have trouble breathing. She couldn't stop panting and felt dizzy.

She squeezed her eyes shut. That didn't help and she found that she couldn't get enough air. She stopped moving, unable to keep going. She just needed to rest for a second. She had hoped that being in the bar would make her feel safe.

She didn't.

It was just as well. She had to go back out anyway. She needed to retrieve her bow and gather more of those shock arrows. They were far more useful than she had been expecting them to be. Her breathing calmed down as a plan slowly came together.


End file.
